...it is Monday and a jolly good day for cleaning everything?
The weather is cooler...just 70F inside the boat, so you know it is cooler outside. I think perhaps this is the motivating factor today.
Yesterday we went looking for a new pocket knife for Waz. The spring in his current one has gone, and it is dangerous to use. No luck yet. Ace hardware was the obvious place to look, and look we did. Lots of choices but not the right one.
He has just gone off to Ace hardware again in search of some terminals for the engine room camera. Im not the only one doing chores!
We did some laundry, and pulled the back and starb'd side curtains down to let the lovely warm sun in back and the breeze in the side. Things are drying beautifully.
I have been wanting to clean, as in degrease, the back of the boat. It gets a bit scummy back there when we have been running for long hours, so I took the orange degreaser...biodegradable...out and did the job. Lots of satisfaction in having the boat clean and looking lovely.
Waz went down into the engine room to check out why the camera wasn't working properly, and did some testing with it, has pronounced it fixed and only the terminals are needed to make it all right again.
Last night we were invited to another of Len's feast! My goodness, can that man cook!
Stephie's mom is here for two weeks over Christmas, and I guess this was a 'welcome' gathering for her and a get together with Len's lovely sister Janet. We met Janet in Feb. when we were here, so it was great to see her again and renew acquaintances.
Len, bless him, cooked a leg of pork (German style...Stephie's mom is from Germany, originally) which made Waz VERY happy, plus potato dumplings, real gravy, soft pretzels and Mom made a German cucumber salad. Yum! I was introduced to a sweet German mustard, to go with the meat, and then because I liked it so much, Len gave me the whole jar to take home, along with a HUGE amount of leftover everything! WOW! Talk about generous hosts!
We aren't used to eating so much food, so breakfast this morning was fruit for me and muesli for Waz. We were still full from dinner.
We missed the Christmas Boat Parade, but did see a few brightly lit masts across the canal, from the living room. There is always next year.
Sorry..no photos!!:( They will get used to me taking pics, I'm sure).
Stephie has the week off to spend time with her mom, so perhaps this is the perfect time to get the English Tea things out and make them a Devonshire Tea?
Well, while the sun is out, I am going to go outside again and condition all the stainless...well, as much as I can get done today. Im enjoying being out in the cool air and doing physical exercise while doing something useful. We needed a walk last night after dinner, but didn't get there! today!
Waz managed to find a pocket knife online at Academy, along with some LED lights for he engine room. We also now have full camera use in the engine room:)
I didn't get to the stainless steel, as planned, but instead we made a cup of tea and enjoyed some quiet reading time on the back seat in the cockpit, with the last of the day's sun warming us, until it was just too cool to sit there anymore.
I then went upstairs and unrolled all the glas that I had opened earlier in the day. We ate lunch upstairs again today. We feel a bit naked up there, coz the whole flybridge is clear, and all the neighbors can see what we are doing.
One of the neighbors across the canal was busy putting lights in the water out front of his dock. Apparently they have only owned the house for a couple of weeks, so he is busy 'renovating'. There was only one green light here until today, now we have green underwater lights...oh joy:) He saw us watching him and waved. I had a conversation with him a couple of days ago, so we were already on 'hailing' terms. They have a rather large Rottweiler that stays in the pool enclosure. There seem to be a lot of doggie friends kept in pool enclosures.
We called the pump-out people again, around 5pm. We had stayed home all day because we had been told the truck would be here today. We could have gone tiki-touring in the dinghy, but instead were industrious while waiting.
Not too happy that we cannot for the life of us contact the local su[pplier of said pumping truck. Instead we have to call the 800 number and talk to the folks in New England who then convey our need for service to the local folks. Shesh! talk about top heavy. I just want to know why nobody from the local pumping service hasn't called us to tell us what they are doing (or not, as this case may be) and when they will.
We ate our steak and veg meal inside tonight, it being too cool upstairs. At 7pm, I got on the phone again to the 800 number. I was twice bumped off by a fellow answering the call, whom I couldn't hear very well, and he gave up. I have been calling a 'local calling area' number, and that got me the after hours call center. I again lodged a request for pumpout and told them we had been waiting four days now...things will be critical any day now!...and not long after, we had a call from the local guy to say they were overnight courier-ing the required hoses to be in Port Charlotte first thing in the morning. They promised to have us pumped out by 10am. We will let you know. I promise to take photos!
If only they had admitted to us on Thursday last when we ordered this all up, that they didn't have the required hoses.
To add insult to injury...there is a charge from Thursday on my credit card for a service we have yet to receive..and not just for one month, but for the WHOLE month!!! for this pump-out. PLUS TAX.
We managed a long walk this evening. I put my scarf and two sweatshirts on (both cotton) to go walking and I was none too warm. It is 71.6F in the salon and I am sitting here in short sleeves, but can feel the cool on the back of my neck. We aren't far off going to bed, and I am wondering if it will be necessary to put the duvet back on the bed for the rest of this week, which is supposed to get down into the 40's overnight and low 70's and even high 60's during the day. Suits me!:)
I am reading a book called 'Paris to the Moon' about a New York journalist who takes a leap of faith to fulfill his childhood dream of living and working in Paris. Having lived in Paris, I was drawn to his descriptions of the places I know well, his quirky turn of phrase and some of the words I have to look up in a dictionary. I love that about a new book. While it is fun to read about familiar places, I also miss reading a work of fiction, so I am about to go down to the forward cabin and choose one of the escapist books I have sitting in brown paper bags, from our trip to the New Orleans Friends of the Library sale. Waz is half way through yet another Tom Clancy. He has asked me what it takes for a author to include so many familiar characters in so many books. For example; the characters in this book are given 'time' to develop...by that I mean that there is forward knowledge of them that is not included in the other novels they appear in. He wonders how much planning it takes for the author to fit all these familiars into his next 15 or so novels? One might employ a white board?? or a computer program? As he said, on our walk, one of the characters that is killed off...or rather, dies, in this book, appears hail and hearty in a much later book. A bit weird, by his account.
I realized today that I forgot to mention our bike ride, last week.
I think it was on Wednesday that we drove over to Fisherman's Village and singed up for a 'borrow' bike. These are at the Marina for the benefit of those who are docked there, but mentioning Len's name seems to get us all kinds of privaleges, and so it was with the bikes. We donned our helmets and signed out for an hour or so riding towards Laishley Park. It is flat as a pancake, so it wasn't too taxing, but a gorgeous day and many others out riding also. We biked down to the public marina and along the waterfront in Punta Gorda, which is very pretty. We tend to like that area over Port Charlotte, to be honest.
We took the bikes back and went over to the Village to see if the candy store is still making Beignets? NO! They have thrown out their deep fryer, and are now working on a recipe for baked beignets! WHAT??? Suicide! and we found out we aren't the only ones who think they are crazy. Not only that, we are profoundly disappointed. They made the lightest, most delish beignets we have tasted...even in Louisiana, where they come from! bummer!!!
Better for our waistlines, no doubt.
Well, that's about it for tonight, Im off to bed and no doubt the good man will join me. Nowhere else to go:)
Ciao for now.
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