Turkey Tour (Day One)

Not guilty.

We want to spend Thanksgiving in Anclote Key.  We would love to sail but Anclote is north of us and guess where the wind is coming from. Yep, the north.  We wanted to get a few hours in before dropping anchor but after motoring a whole 2 hours (yes, 2 hours!) yesterday, we stopped.

Just like that.

Later on we were playing our usual at anchor Scrabble game and hoping the molar Hans broke earlier while scarfing down peanuts won't give him a problem for the rest of this voyage:

Hans:  I think we should let everyone think you were at the helm when we ran aground.

Me:  Too late, I've already posted on Facebook.

Not guilty

Guilty

A New Marina Friend

 Of the animal variety anyway. 

In addition to manatees, dolphins, and various Silly Walkers (our name for herons and their ilk), we now have a furry, land bound creature to add to our list of neighbors.

Maggie the Squirrel fell out of her nest at a tender young age but luckily for her we have a live-aboard couple here who happen to know a thing or two about squirrel rescue and Maggie was saved. During the heat of the summer while I was Kravitzing about fetching ice, picking up mail, and perhaps purchasing a Frosty or two (damn that Wendy's for being within walking distance), I'd heard some vague comments about a daring squirrel rescue.

And then a couple of weeks ago we had our Quarterly Marina Barbecue get together and Maggie quickly became the star. I (who as a child had a skunk for a pet) was still stunned to find a squirrel zipping about quite fearlessly and running up and down people as if they were trees.

Later on I remembered that during one of my walks the day before the picnic, I'd noticed a squirrel hanging on to a tree just a couple of feet from me.  I stood still and watched it and it stood still and watched me. 'How cute,' I thought before going on my way.  I now realize that it was Maggie and can you imagine what would have happened if she'd jumped on me????

The scream heard round the world I'm sure!

"Maggie wanna radish?"

"No thank you, I'd rather make a nest in your hair."

"Or sit on Hans' shoulder."

"Cute, Schmute!!!!! No creature can compete with me!!"

Just in case anyone is worried about Maggie's well being; the people who rescued her have done this before.  Maggie has been doing very well with being reintroduced back into her real world, has built her own nests in a couple of trees and sometimes she stays out all night long with her new squirrel friends. She also has pajama parties on the boat and brings these squirrel friends (all female so far) back to the boat for sleep overs in her cage.
Eventually she'll probably stop visiting her boat house but I hope I'll still spot her running around like I did yesterday with a big acorn stuffed in her mouth.

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Hans finally got a whole week of vacation so we are going to spend this week 'out' on the water instead of 'in a marina' in the water.
This will be our first Thanksgiving at anchor.

Cooler Weather = Outside Boat Cleaning

Right around November the first someone threw a switch on the weather here in Florida and we went from what I refer to as 'ankle sweating weather' to 'the most fantastic weather ever'!!  We now have breezy mornings, hot sunny days, cool comfortable evenings, and no need for air conditioning!!

Every day.  And it's fantastic!

The only downside is Wilbur and I can no longer hide out below board eating bon-bons, watching old movies, and napping, all the while blaming the intense Florida heat for the fact that the outside of our Knotty Cat is just plain filthy.

But now that the weather is cooperating I can't use the heat as an excuse for my slovenly ways. I can't whine to Hans that just navigating my way through a day means sweating through the lightest of clothes and even while sitting still sweat rolls down my back unless I sit right in front of a fan. And I'm not kidding when I tell you that just standing at the bow for the half hour it takes me to fill our water tanks once a week during the summer is beyond excruciating.

Honestly, the summer here is that bad.

So I've actually (almost) enjoyed these past two weeks as I've mopped and scrubbed the decks and have used about a gallon or so of mineral spirits to remove the inky black tar left behind from the oozing edges of our roll up solar panels (I've since wrapped those edges with UV resistant foil tape). And you just haven't lived until you've used an entire box of Q-Tips to clean just one locker. I've also skinned my knuckles scrubbing out too many lazarettes and lockers of their summers worth of dog hair, grit, and grime.

Gross indeed, but I did it mostly sweat free and that works for me.

Unloading the lazarettes in the cockpit.

Wilbur stands guard over our belongings.

Wilbur's swimming pool put to a whole different use.

"Phooey on all this boat cleaning! Where are my bon-bons and  DVD of The Return of Lassie?"

Next week is Thanksgiving already and Hans finally has a weeks vacation due him.  We are going to spend it  cruising up the coast and will celebrate the holiday at anchor with Wilbur.

I've never cooked a turkey (actually I bought a turkey breast)  in my life and I'm hoping as Wilbur is so smart he'll be able to lend me a paw with it!

My Life in these Great United States (or aboard our boat here in Florida)

We've now lived in Florida for just a bit over a year but it somehow seems like much longer.

Today I voted.

And last week I had jury duty.

My voting experience went quite smoothly although for some reason there's a notation in the records that I 'need assistance'(?). This same thing happened to me last year when I voted in the primaries and I thought the situation had been resolved. So I filled out the necessary paperwork again and please note; one must leave one's sense of humor at home when voting. My, "Well, I'm a blond" response as a reason for needing assistance was met with stony silence.
They probably threw out my ballot.

Jury duty was a tiny bit more entertaining.  After watching a video and learning the rules of how to be a good juror we were given a small break before court commenced. Of course there was an immediate line outside the ladies room and at the head of it was a very large woman sitting importantly on her little rascal scooter. Turning to us she announced that she was going to check out the availability of stalls.  We all watched as she dismounted and on the tiniest feet (encased in little elfin slippers) I've ever seen on an adult she tottered to the door, opened it, took a gander and then boomed back to us, "STANDING ROOM ONLY! STANDING ROOM ONLY!"  Once she was re-seated she took her role as Potty Police to heart. While leaning dangerously far from her perch in order to get a better look, she yelled "CLOSE THE DOOR!" towards the men's room.
Potential jurors continued milling about and she scared the living daylights out of one gentleman when she shouted at him, "DO YOU NEED TO USE THE RESTROOM?  SIR! I SAID DO YOU NEED TO USE THE RESTROOM?  I CAN SEE AN EMPTY SPOT IN THERE!"   "Um, no?" was his timid response. "WELL YOU LOOKED LIKE YOU NEEDED TO." she harrumphed. "CLOSE THE DOOR!" she demanded again as she swiveled around.  That door never did close and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who could see who washed his hands and who didn't.
By now I, and the lady in front of me were shaking from trying not to laugh. "Oh God, I know she'll end up on my panel." the lady groaned. "And guess who'll be the foreman." I answered.
Just then a woman exiting the bathroom informed us via raised eyebrows and a look of confusion that there were many stalls available.
Shortly thereafter my number was called and as I left the room I had to pass by the Potty Police.  She was busy scanning the room and clutched in her hands were a # 2 pencil (I haven't seen one of those in a long time) and a pad of paper.
No doubt keeping detailed accounts of indiscretion's and toilet habits.

Here in Florida only 6 jurors are needed per trial and needless to say as one of the twenty-two chosen to start, I was not picked or my day would have been a whole lot more interesting.

But in the mean time between messing around with refrigeration, replacing yet one more hose to our head (and this time we didn't mess around with dangerous chemicals and just ripped that sucker out), and trying to stay cool (which is finally happening), I made new slip covers for our settee.  Originally I made covers from old bed sheets but they were already pretty thin and it wasn't long before they were stained and torn.  I lucked into a sale on upholstery fabric and for about $35.00 I ended up with this. For now I'm pretty happy.

Of course the final vote (how appropriate on this election day!) goes to Wilbur.  

Anyone see a resemblance here?

Hello Wilbur

Hello Friend

This is probably the shortest post I've ever written but today I was finally able to get a picture of Baby Manatee.  I took Wilbur with me and it was all I could do to hold him back from jumping over the sea wall.  I'm sure he thinks it's a a lucky pup that gets to swim in the marina every day and he soooo wants to play with his friend.

A year or so later...

We just realized that a year ago in August we gave up our apartment and with both our vehicles loaded to the point of bursting (Wilbur rode with me), we made the two day trip from Pennsylvania to Florida.  We then moved our Knotty Cat through the Okeechobee Waterway to our new stomping grounds (that wouldn't have happened this summer as the one fixed bridge in the Okeechobee is now at 49' and we have a 50' mast).  I still can't call us cruisers at this time because we're living in limbo at a marina which is basically a trailer park on the water, but we're thankful that if we have to be stuck anywhere, at least we're on our boat.

Even though it's still hotter than hell.

We were just a bit more prepared for the heat this year though; we had a sun shield type of thingy made for the Knotty Cat that covers her wrap-around windows, we bought some outdoor curtain panels from Home Depot and draped them over our boom and over a rope strung from the mast to the jib so the boat ended up looking  like a giant tent (all were removed for Isaac the No Show Hurricane),  I made hatch covers, and best of all we now have a cheap Wal Mart air conditioner** sitting over our berth hatch. Speaking of air conditioners, please don't ever waste your money on one of those horribly expensive units from West Marine.  When we suddenly headed out last year and knew we would be in mosquito territory while crossing the Okeechobee, we panicked and without doing the proper research (my job) we bought one.
We are now on our third unit.
Number one lasted from August through September (2011).
Number two from Memorial Day to the end of July (2012).
Number three from July until.... we're just waiting.  The control knobs on all of them broke within the first couple of weeks, they are noisier than hell, inefficient, expensive to run, and the first two gave a hideous last gasp before expiring.  The only reason we're still stuck with one is because West Marine won't give us our money back.  So we continue to take advantage of the extended warranty which will hopefully allow us to replace it for the rest of our lives, or until we get totally sick and tired of it.

So then our refrigerator decided (as would I ) that August would be a delightful time to go on vacation. I discovered this only after a grocery shopping trip which of course involved many items that don't do well in the heat.  I was a bit puzzled when I realized that the frost build up on the freezer compartment had diminished quite a bit and I grew alarmed when it was obvious that the inside of the fridge was as warm as the outside.
This was on a Thursday.
I defrosted the whole thing in a weak attempt to jump start it but by Friday I knew we were up that proverbial creek.

I guess that hair dryer may as well be used for something!

So while Hans was at work and I was Kravitzing around the marina, I whined about our plight to anyone who would listen.  I know one of my last posts put a 'not so nice' slant on the topic of neighbors and I now feel it necessary to post about the ever so elusive 'good neighbor'. And one of these people would be Brian from the Blue Moose. Brian is a natural born Mr. Fix-it and he volunteered in a heart-beat to check out our system. This was after he'd spent the day insulating the attic of a friend's mother and most likely would have preferred relaxing with a beer. But before I knew it he was sweating in our engine room and replaced both of our refrigerator fans that were no longer working (we never even knew they existed!) (and at a fraction of the cost if we'd gone with the West Marine model) and when we still weren't cooling by the next day he charged up our freon. A couple of tweaks later (he even consulted with Mike from Zero to Cruising) and a very cheap visit ($40.00) from Captain Ron the refrigerator guy (who verified we didn't have a a leak) we were back in business and I spent the next few days lifting the lid of our refrigerator just so I could enjoy the feeling of dry, cold air***.
I just wish we could have helped Brian a few days later when he discovered his air conditioner had broken down at the end of a long hot day. He was able to fix it but only after climbing over the engine, removing and cleaning the filter for the 'nth time, disconnecting and cleaning too many hoses of too many barnacles....

When Brian and his wife Sally leave here after Hurricane season we'll miss them (that is if we don't follow them). They are super nice people.  But then again, they are sailors.

...and then the Baby Bear said...

Last month we enjoyed a cook out at the marina and another one is scheduled for this weekend.

And here I am in the middle, doing what I do best...
...talking.

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** I no sooner wrote about how wonderful our Wal Mart air conditioner was when it too crapped out on us.  We took it back and since it was under warranty we could have received one in exchange.  Except they didn't have any (they're now stocking electric heat logs!) and we're now back to camping out in our salon area on our 'just slightly smaller than a double bed'.  Remember this includes Wilbur the Amazing Expanding Pit Bull.

***After yet another provisioning type of trip to the grocery store I discovered that the fridge had enjoyed its vacation so much the first time that it skipped out on us yet once again without any kind of prior notice!  This time it was our freezer 'plate'. It was leaking freon like no one's business and of course needed to be replaced.
We now have a whole new refrigeration system.

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I find it a bit strange though that three boats here at the marina suffered from 'fridge failure' within the same week, not to mention those with air conditioner issues. And last week we saw at least three toilets in the dumpster! You can't tell me that appliances don't belong to some sort of union because I'm convinced they all conspire to kick the bucket at the same time.  We no longer discuss our outages while on our boats and instead huddle in the parking lot in order to compare notes of failing systems.  Having once belonged to a union (and there is strength in numbers) I feel it's best to keep our appliances in the dark as much as possible.

So long, Isaac, it was nice not knowing you.

Since Isaac decided not to show up at our party we're finally getting back to normal here at our marina.

Actually, I think Isaac realized he couldn't compete with the Ryder trucks full of barrels of human urine and feces (can you imagine volunteering for that job) that the protesters of the Republican National Convention were bringing into our state, and decided to veer off toward poor old Louisiana. I sincerely hope Isaac doesn't cause a lot of damage there.

Hans worked from the boat yesterday and without air conditioning (we were still in defensive mode and didn't want to put our huge air conditioner back in place just in case it would need to come down again), it wasn't very pleasant.  There was a decent breeze going on which would have been okay except it would start raining and we'd have to close the hatches. The boat would heat up, it would stop raining, we'd open the hatches...aahhhhh, more fresh air.
It felt so good.
And then WHAM.
Rain.
We opened and closed hatches all stinking day long.

Early in the day I made the huge mistake of thinking I'd do some very much needed inside boat cleaning. After all there was all that fresh air blowing in. Then of course it started to rain. First of all, I don't do well in heat.  I grew up in snow belt country and this much I know; you can always bundle up and stay warm when it's cold. But if you don't have air conditioning in Florida during the summer, with over 80 percent humidity--you're going to sweat like a whore in church and most likely be cranky.
I grew cranky quite quickly (yes, I meant to say that), and I'm pretty sure Hans wished he'd gone into the office.
By the time I was done sponging up all the soapy water full of Wilbur hair from the floors of our galley, heads,berths etc..., I could have wrung a bucketful of sweat and tears from my shirt alone. The only thing that got me through the torture of my own personal sauna was the promise that even if it was raining, I was going to go for a swim.  But when that time came, the rain and wind had kicked up to such a degree that it just didn't make sense and I swear there were white caps in the pool. I could go on ad nauseum, but I'm sure you get the picture. I ended up taking a shower on the boat and I was a sweaty mess before I could even dry off.

Wilbur practices his 'Stink Eye' for Isaac.
"You talkin' to me, Isaac? Well, get lost, 'cause my mama is cranky!"
And notice that he's properly attired in his bow tie collar.  It's the one from  Silly Buddy the gift we received this spring from Two Pitties in the City  (the blog that made me think I surely needed to own a pit bull of my own thank you very much!).

The fun girls contemplate where they're supposed to poop if Isaac shows up (and pooping is a serious hobby for these two). 

We expected this much and more (photo from Tropical Storm Debby). Yet it never happened.

Honestly though, we're quite happy that Isaac passed us by and we were pretty impressed at how quickly everyone pulled together and got our marina 'hurricane ready'.  

We're not done yet though and I'll be glad when December rolls around.
Except I hate Christmas shopping.
I'm not happy unless I'm complaining.