shoveling

Norfolk, VA

That beer at dinner, on top of all the sun and fresh air and snow shoveling with my cutting board, nixed the blog last night. I took a nap on the saloon settee around 8:15 PM, got up to go to bed around 9:00 PM. Nearly 10 hours sleep minus the couple times up for "pee & feed" - I, to pee and Amelia for feed. I appreciate the fact that Amelia is willing to wait for my nature calls timing rather than demand I get up according to her needs, unlike our Maine land-based routine.

It was warmer yesterday though not enough to be totally comfortable. David went over the engine thoroughly with his socket wrenches, making sure all bolts were tight. He found a hose leaning on something that would get hot and adjusted that. I shoveled snow from the deck and the dinghy. The dinghy is a sad, deflated dinghy. Hoping the warmer temps today bring it a new sense of purpose.

I'd left a note on the Breezeway Cafe' table a day or so ago - "We need to borrow a battery tester. Anybody?" There was a knock on our hull yesterday morning and neighbor John said someone had left a tester for us. Later John told me he was surprised that my technique worked. This reminded me to say a specific THANK YOU to the universe energy for making that happen. Of course, I called the battery tester owner, who we've never seen, to thank him. Batteries are all strong and powerful.

My childhood friend, Suzi, turned me onto an e-newsletter, Brain Pickings, and I got my first Sunday morning copy yesterday. "A Gentle Corrective for the Epidemic of Identity Politics..." is the title of this Sunday's musings. My summary of the really thoughtful writing is that we've chosen, allowed ourselves to be "known" (by ourselves and by others) by the narrowest, narrowest aspects of who we are or may become. Our efforts to belong and not think (maybe feel) have squeezed out all the wonder and curiosity and risk of living fully. Busted!  I need to do more thinking about this, and in light of H is for Hawk in which the protagonist is struggling with her identity during her grief over her dad's death. Hmmmmm.

A great catch-up chat with my Atlanta friend, Kristen, who married my other great Atlanta friend, Greg. "Oh did I tell you," she said, "that Greg and I got married." "NO, you didn't." I'm delighted for them. Smiling as I write. Shoveling snow with my cutting board, the hard plastic kind that you chop and shovel veggies on. Perfect. Our own personal icicles.

We put the engine box back around the engine - insulates us from the sound. Ran the engine for an hour "under load" aka in gear but going nowhere. Watched the big steel boat leave the dock and come back in, out for a drive around the neighborhood. Walked across the parking lot for dinner of really good seafood, out. Slept for 10 hours.

The most recent stress of engine and the cold and the altered plans is fading.

gentle day

Norfolk, VA

Hard to get out of our warm bed this morning. Even Amelia was content to sleep in rather than get up in the cold for mere food. I think last night was the coldest and tonight only into mid-teens. Bright and crisp outside all day.

Breakfast of gluten free pancakes - delicious. I tackled redistributing some of the fo'cs'le stuff that has been taken out of the forward locker. This, to get some heat to the water tubes so as to prevent freezing. Just like water pipes in Maine this time of the year. In the Breezeway Cafe' we leave the cabinet doors under the sink open at night and the faucet dripping. Ah, winter! The redistribution made for more comfortable living space in the saloon and space under the table for our feet.

kitty and I sat in the sunny pilot house

and I did a bunch of reading - H is for Hawk. I'm not exactly enjoying this book but am fascinated by the hawk training. Enjoy remembering the documentary, The Eagle Huntress, about a girl in Mongolia who trained a golden eagle in spite of cultural taboo. In my book, the psychology of training, coupled with the grief the woman is recovering from is amazing. The references to the book she is re-reading and the cruelty of another hawk trainer toward his hawk is awful. Nevertheless, reading in the warmth of the sun is lovely, especially post-trauma of engine issues.

There was the surprise of ice...frozen harbor...all the way to the breakwater that is the entrance to this little marina. It was slushy around our boat. black hull? warmth from inside? Still David punched all around to make sure we weren't being squeezed. I shouted to some neighbors standing on the dock just to say hello. Our mechanic dropped off a bill which we paid on the spot. This IS an expensive trip. I'm assuming this is like house maintenance - you do and pay for it, as needed. Had there been a place to sit and coffee available I think mechanic would have stayed to visit in spite of his protests. With neither of those things he "had to get moving." I like him and sense he likes us.

David worked on updating his sea-time log, prep for updating his Captain's license. I took computer, notes, external drive and a movie to the Breezeway (lounge) to hang out in a warmer, larger, off-the-boat space. The big grey cat, Snackals (because he likes snacks), and I enjoyed each others' company. I got much email, FB, banking, checking on credit cards completed. Found a couple of people on FB who we'd met at the previous marina and sent them messages of good cheer. Then the big task - figure out how to play a movie on my computer via an external dvd/cd drive. Ta Da! Success! Plug and play. Easy. Now I can watch a movie anytime.

David and I shared cooking dinner responsibilities then each of us went back to our own interests. I called a friend and had a lovely visit. I think it is time I just got over my  minor telephone phobia. The choice seems to be get over it or loose my connections with my peeps. I've already made a date with another friend to phone each other tomorrow. This might be a 2018 ambition, not to be confused with a "resolution."

Tomorrow some concentrated looking at travel plans/options. We just learned this evening that the Gilmerton Bridge is broken. This is THE first bridge we pass under - it has to open for us - on our trip from here south. If it is not able to open we don't go. We also learned that the Alligator River Bridge is under repair 1/11-17. Another no go, or rather wait in a marina, until it is repaired and able to open.

What is the message, the lesson, here?  Flexibility? Patience? Something not yet considered?

???????? Still, love wins!

good vibrations!

Norfolk, VA

My kidneys applaud and sigh with relief. The massive hull vibration, transferred from the engine, is gone! Newer engine mounts have done the trick! Thank you Mike, the surgeon, eh mechanic. Thank you all the other consultants who were our guides and confidants. Thank you all the mechanical gods. Thank you, David, for persevering.

Otherwise, a really cold day but bright and beautiful sun. I had a shower. Dale, the dock master, drove me to the food store so I could get cat food...and a few other things. David and I cooked up in the Breezeway and watched t.v.  anything to get off the boat. The clean-up and reorganization will happen tomorrow.

Missing friends and conversation and sooooo relieved that the engine mounts have done the job we wanted them to do.

Two photos for fun:

Grilled snow!


And Amelia's pillow.




Hope all our Maine friends and family are warm and shoveled out.

Happy birthday to cousin, Patsy, in Winston-Salem, NC.

snow day

Norfolk, VA

Howling wind. Boat listing to port. Groaning dock lines. Waves slapping on the hull. Grace relaxing then surging against her lines. Was the extra dock line I added enough? What happens if one of the lines chaffs through? Do we slam into the pilings? or into the boats across the inlet? How fast can I get my clothes on? What about slipping on the icy dock?

A relaxing night's sleep. All my thoughts in the dark, in the cold, while my sleep companions... slept. I, alone, was worrying. David and Amelia? Nah. They even had the audacity to snore! Tonight I'll wake them both if I'm nervous.

I was feeling really vulnerable this morning, verge of tears vulnerable. We did make it through the night without slipping our dock lines or wearing them into pieces. My additional line held and others did not chaff through. We are warm thanks to our little space heaters. Really, all is well.

Really, we are vulnerable....as are we each, all the time...really. Vulnerable to what? Death. Sickness. Joy. Companionship. Fear. Love. But here, in a new place, in winter, without my familiar support systems and human resources (aka, friends!), I notice my/our vulnerability and interdependency. Realizing, again, that I, maybe more than David, want and need my buddies. Phone calls aren't as salient as face-to-face or close proximity contact. Where, in this place, is my community? It's out there somewhere else. Away, somewhere. Yuck! Causes me, again, to consider where I want to be living in and for the next 10 years - dual residency with close friends in both places? cruising and land-based communities?

Much as I don't like talking on the phone (small childhood trauma), I loved talking on the phone today. My sweet college friend, Alana, called to check on me. Sharyl called to check in. I called aunt Kathleen, Mary & Irwin, Betsy and another couple of people. Those contacts did ameliorate my feelings of aloneness.

And the sun came up and, finally, out from behind the clouds. And it quit snowing around 2:00 PM. The wind continues to howl but David checked the dock lines and added another. He said mine was perfect. We shoveled out (!) using the dustpan and the cutting board. Then a dock neighbor lent us one of his shovels. We returned his shovel and toured his big steel boat.

This photo is from the door of the Breezeway Cafe' (the marina lounge). We "Got snow!" Our boat is way in the distance a bit left of center but you really can't see her from the Breezeway.

David did most of the small amount of real shoveling needed. We were surprised, when we finally took our insulation off the leeward side windows, to see that someone - dock master? - had shoveled a path down the dock and down our little finger dock. Cool. We cleared our pilot house doorways.

Starboard side snow. About 6" on deck.

Below, David pretends to love working outside in the cold. It was bracing and he does have better winter clothes than I have.

We had a conversation about my fears, our fears and our options for continuing this journey. Possibilities:
1) leave the boat here for a month and go to NC or take advantage of Nancy's offer of apt in Matthew
2) plan more carefully and choose each next marina along the ICW, calling in advance of leaving to make sure they are open and have space
3) live here at Rebel on the boat until more consistently reasonable weather

Neither of us considered going back to Maine as an option though we know it is, should we need to do so.

For the moment we've settled on option #2 and started that research this afternoon. We'll take our computers and our notebook to the Breezeway tomorrow and do some real planning, always waiting for decent weather with warmer temps and less wind. And tomorrow the mechanic will come to finish the engine mounts and shaft aligning. Fingers and toes crossed for a purring boat!

Sitting across from David now after dinner I notice that we both "lean into the wind" toward the starboard side of the boat, counter-balancing the "list to port" that the wicked wind is making. David reads. Amelia sleeps behind him. The space heater, heats. Waves slap the hull. The forward water tank is not frozen. The dock lines are holding. Sunset was beautiful!

peace

OMG, tired, snow expected

Norfolk, VA

What an exhausting day...so far at 7:00 PM and there are still 2 mechanics in our engine room and the 3rd one (David) standing in the companionway handing tools and congratulations. David and I started the prep work around 7:30 AM. Mike the mechanic arrived around 10:30. He and David have been working since then. The "real" helper, Tim, arrived around 6:15. Hard work that seems to be going well.

All day, though, I've been a Nervous Nellie with bouts of Chilly Millie.The chilly part is obvious. "Baby, it's cold outside." And "The wind is blowing." Chill all over the east coast and frigid with gale winds in Maine this evening and tomorrow. Glad sis-in-law, Sharyl, will be at niece, Shannon's just in case power goes out which is likely.

The nervous part is also obvious - another expensive boat repair that we hope works. No guarantee. My shoulders might be up around my ears. I've been hanging out in the saloon most of the day. Reading. Writing. Sewing - I finished the other open-weave fabric shelf for the hanging closet that doesn't work as a hanging closet. Did a little dancing in the now very narrow galley aisle. The 2 barn doors that are the floor of the pilot house are now in the galley walk and take up about a 5th of the space. It's crowded. No privacy. Can't just take a nap like Amelia is doing on my lap.

There's a lot of cold air falling down the companionway steps onto my feet. Bet it would be a lot warmer if I stood up. Our new space heaters are working. Now if the marina just doesn't loose power. The propane heater is not as strong. The wind is picking up and pushing Grace a little to port. I put an extra line on, knowing that winds will be extreme during the night.

For a moment all the mechanics have left to go drill some holes into the plates that hold the engine mounts. This does not necessarily allow me to relax. They will be back and the space is still in upheaval and crowded. And there is that gapping hole in the pilot house floor. We may have to sleep in the saloon tonight just so we don't fall into the engine on our way to the head/toilet during the night.

the doors just do NOT belong in the galley aisle

Mike, upper right, and David take the forward plates out. The really big engine is hanging from a chain fall which is supported by a large wooden structure. Pretty ingenious and those ingenious supports for heavy items ALWAY make me nervous, thus, continuing Nervous Nellie.

I'm going to complete the spaghetti prep. Getting hungry and food will help tiredness.

Looking forward to an uninterrupted sleep with my warm companions. after food. Hoping all my beloveds and even those I don't know survive the coming storm in warmth and comfort.

P.S. Food did help. Mechanics left around 9:45 PM and the doors are back in the floor.

Compost

Norfolk, VA

Still cold but less wind so "comfortable" today with lots of sun. A great day for house/boat clean up and rearrange. Getting stuff relocated in order to make tomorrow's engine assault easier or easier to find things that we need while work project is going on. We have a way to contain Amelia in the galley/saloon with all her needs. I have my stuff ready to vacate when the engine work starts. I assume I'll vacate as there isn't room for 3 people in the engine compartment. David and I will take the box off the engine in the morning, sort of like opening the chest for the surgery. We're the pre-op prep people. Then the surgeon arrives. Really hoping this works to our advantage and Grace will be fit to travel before the weekend.

Not that we'll necessarily leave as snow is predicted, tomorrow, and freezing weather through the weekend and it is comforting to have dock electricity in these temperatures. Are the locks functioning? or frozen? Don't know yet. I'm assured by the dock master here that this cold weather will not last until April as it does in Maine. Thank you. Days warm up then temp goes down again. Just have to wait for a day that warms up. Two days of limited wind would be good. Hey, 7 days of limited wind would be TERRIFIC!!

Shower day. Whoohooooo! The big adventure for me was learning to dump the composting toilet's compost. Humph! All that is needed is a big plastic bag and some paper towels and another plastic bag as a drop cloth. No bad smell. No particular disgust. Then the compost goes on the flower beds (nothere) or into the dumpster. The family who cleans the toilet together probably poops together, too. Eh, sort of. Anyway a much easier project than I suspected and way better than working with the previous holding tank toilet which was always smelly. Success!

Fingers crossed for tomorrow's engine mount success.

Full moon - January 1, 2018

Norfolk, VA

In the middle of the night, maybe in a dream, I identified the man's voice and what he was speaking, that which I could not bring back last night - Zac speaking a poem from The Twenty, a dance/theater performance I was part of in November. Such a strong, calming timbre with these words that end the poem: 

"And here I am looking at the door
I'm hunting on the edges
And flying on the bridges
I'm the fire that ends a poem and starts a story." 

Cold in Norfolk so David and I drove south .... to Virginia Beach...... about 15 miles south..... hoping for warmth and a walk on the beach.... for heaven's sake...and for ours. We're both getting a bit stir-crazy, especially me.  So here we are on the lovely beach:

Virginia Beach, freezing our faces off!

Sunny, and a pretty sand beach with waves breaking and gulls squawking but, on my dear, really cold and windy, straight out of the north windy. We lasted barely long enough to take this photo and scat back to the car.

We did continue to drive into the town of VA Beach, an interesting mix of surf side high-rise hotels and condos and across the street those same bathing suit/tee shirt/ beachwear shops that we see in Old Orchard Beach, Atlantic Beach and other tourist beach fronts along the Atlantic and, I suppose, Pacific coasts.

Our road trip adventure continued in pursuit of a new little space heater. Ours gave up its fan and heating element earlier today. With temps in the low 20s tonight we wanted electricity in our heating tool kit, not willing to leave the propane heater on overnight. We're barely willing to leave the electric one on overnight. So off to Home Depot. No space heaters unless you wanted one that looked like a fireplace and would take up our entire galley walk space. YIKES, other people are cold and wanting heaters, too?  Try Lowe's. Yes! We bought two, just in case, even though we can only use one at a time with our electrical supply to the boat. And here they are with us on the boat:

cuddling with our new electric heaters

aluminum wrapped bubble insulation for pilot house windows

David wants to return the one I'm holding. We've tried them both, very similar except for physical size and on our compact boat, little is better in electric heaters. So we'll make another trip in the next couple of days.

It is going to stay cold and windy through the weekend, according to forecast. I'm not sure how this will effect our engine work...except that it will be cold. Hoping it doesn't delay the beginning...and completion. Know it will be chilly and hope the mechanic has figured how to support the engine without the doors having to be open!

The mechanic is supposed to arrive mid-morning Wednesday to start the removal of new engine mounts and the install of newer  mounts, fatter to help diminish the vibration transfer that is so obnoxious and uncomfortable. David, with me helping no doubt, will start rearranging our furniture, so to speak, making a cradle for the shaft and taking some parts off the engine. All this so that the mechanic can save some time, and us some money, when he arrives to work on Wednesday.

I'm pretty nervous about this fix. I think it is a good idea, that this notion of under-sized engine mount IS probably the issue and that the newly recommended ones with work done by this recommended mechanic can be successful. And, I'm nervous about our continuing south. Committed to the journey, wanting to get into warmth and excited about the "leap" to The Bahamas. The cold and the delays are wearing though, on body and confidence and adventuring spirit.

We celebrated the first day/evening of 2018 with a short howl at the brilliantly full moon and a dinner of rice, black-eyed peas and collards and chicken, about as southern a New Year's Day meal as one can imagine. It was DELICIOUS!! Even Amelia enjoyed the collards. Now that is a recommendation coming from that picky feline. 

While David did most of the cooking, I redistributed some of our stuff, partly in preparation for taking the engine "room" apart tomorrow. Ugh! BF ugh!! And I danced to Pat Benetar up in the pilot house. Dancing helps.     

So we continue...somewhat content in our discontentment, knowing that, at least for the moment, we have choices and enough resources to see some of the choices into action.  We are soooo lucky.

Joy