A decision has been made.

Yes, a decision has been made.
After much consideration we have decided to stay in Houston for another month. August is prime Hurricane month, but that didnt really count towards the decision...not really! It does help that we are in a Hurricane Safe Marina, but our main consideration is that we still have much to achieve in the way of upgrades (essential ones) and we also have plenty of time for the rest of the year to get to know the boat, how she handles, how we handle her and most important of all...how I, as First Mate, need to learn to handle her in all ways. There is so much to know, and not being a boater in my previous life, the way Warren has, I have everything to learn. Nothing like learning on the job but this is life threatening if we (or more specifically ME) get it wrong. Not just our lives, but the boat as well.
This extra time here will also enable us to do more side trips as the bulk of our 'work' is done.
We dont have to be anywhere in particular until November...Thanksgiving, to be more precise. We also have a Christmas date with our broker, Len and his lovely wife Stephie. Stephie is the one who took us to the Crab Shack for All you can eat crab.
Speaking of food....on my way home from some errands this morning, I had a hunch that we might enjoy some fresh shrimp for lunch. I stopped by Rose's seafood...I found it pays to be there in the morning...and bought 2lbs of shrimp (veined and with heads off..more expensive, but...) and two more pots of crab pieces to put in the freezer. We finished off the last pot with more of my 'famous' crab cakes, the other night.
I came home and put a pot of water on to blanch two thirds of the shrimp to put in the freezer. I didnt want them totally cooked, because I would finish them off when making a meal.
the rest (two dozen) I shelled and popped them into a pan with lemon infused olive oil, some lemon zest, one large clove of chopped garlic (important not to crush garlic), salt and pepper and lastly fresh squeezed lemon juice. I had some artisan french bread in the freezer which got a quick thaw in the microwave, and voila! lemon garlic prawns with mopping bread! WOWOWOWOWOW! it was fantastic!  Waz asked for more sauce next time...and I am tempted to go and get some more tomorrow and do the same again. We finished the meal off with a half a canteloupe, which was the perfect frangrant end to a perfect meal. We sat and grinned at eat other afterwards:) Totally satisfied.

The fabric that went thump in the night got cut into today. The  grey vinyl is to cover tables. The indoor ones all have a high gloss finish, so we want to preserve them as much as possible, and the outdoor ones have just been waxed and polished, so we dont want them getting all scratched up again.
I have covered the cockpit table, the flybridge dining table and the salon coffee table, so far. No sewing is necessary but I did need to use some self sticking velcro to keep the outdoor cloths on the tables. This is easy to get off when necessary.

Last night after dinner we were looking for a different place to take a walk. We chose Kemah boardwalk area, just over the bridge. We COULD walk there, but there is no safety railing between you and the vehicles doing 45-55mph over the bridge, just a wide strip alongside the roadway. We drove over and had no trouble parking, being a monday night.

 

The Marble Stone Creamery was closed, so we didnt get dessert there!

This place has a For Sale sign outside and because it is right in the middle of retail stores, we couldnt decide if it is another one, or is indeed a private home. Rather cute!:)

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the brick entry to what was someone's home before Hurricane Ike swept through the area. This is all that remains as a poignant reminder.

Yesterday afternoon (I tend to go shopping later in the day) I went back to  JoAnn's fabrics having made up my mind that I would get some sunbrella fabric to make a new winch cover. It isnt inexpensive, but I wanted enough fabric for other eventualities too. Coupons are wonderful things:) 50% off the cost of the fabric helped hugely (at $21.99 per yard, full price) and I had a truck load of notions in my cart, all for 40% off with my coupon, and the rest of the stuff got 15% off the whole lot. I consider that a worthwhile shopping expedition. Overall I saved $80+!
Not one to do things that everyone else does, I decided to also purchase some patterned fabric so that I can 'jazz'  up the necessary items on the boat.

The blue patterened fabric is a cotton Duck, but the other three are sunbrella fabrics. I will make some table mats with the former.

I still dont understand why most of the covers on boats are such boring colors...white, taupe, blue, navy, maroon and green. No patterns that I have observed!...sooo...I am thinking I will use the red patterned and plain red for some pretty accents. I may yet be over-ruled by 'The Captain' who has final say on the boat....always!:) But he is a good captain in that he agrees that he makes all the important decisions...I just tell him which ones are the important ones...but you have heard that joke before, right?

 

We are off to experience the 'local' Thai restaurant with Veronica, tonight. She swears by the place and Roy doesnt like eating there, so she is delighted we are Thai food fans. Roy is still in far off lands, so this is a great opportunity for all of us.

TTFN...