Skip to main content

Auld Lang Syne

Image
By
Good morning everyone. We hope all of you are enjoying a good start to the new year. We arrived home Sunday after the grand(mother) Christmas road trip. We are enjoying the fruits of yesterday's wonderful 10" snow fall and bracing for yet another snow storm slated to start this afternoon. We have had more snow in the last month than all of last winter. It is just beautiful outside. Santa dropped some new snow shoes and skis under the tree for the kids out of which they are getting some serious mileage.

We have been hearing from many of you these past few weeks. We love the many holiday cards we have received and hope our fall newsletter and holiday calendars are arriving at your home through the holiday mail rush. If you have not received a calendar or newsletter please let us know and we will get one out to you in the next pony express.

We hope that through the holidays you have been surrounded by the warmth of friends and family. I know that is not always easy to feel amidst all the gift giving and traveling and holiday chaos. Hearing from so many of you has given us much warmth and reminded us of happy times sailing on the bay. Many of you have heard me sing Auld Lang Syne and that song is obviously close to my lips this time of year. Funny, in the summer I am thinking of friends ashore and this time of year I dream about all of you. While Burns wrote this song reminiscing of friendships past this song also gives me cause to dream of the friendships to come. I won't dwell on the friends who have passed on during the last year but that sadness does motivate me to re-connect with a few friends I haven't touched base with for a while. That is the holiday spirit that enriches our lives throughout the year. So don't be alarmed if I am singing Christmas carols on the quarterdeck this summer.

Have a great day. Be well. Do good.
Labels:

Comments

Unknown said…
Here in the South it is the custom to eat black eyed peas and ham on New Year's Day to bring luck for the coming year. So, I fixed black eyed peas with ham hocks, and turnip greens (also with ham hocks). Sarah thinks that meal is not complete without some pork chops and corn bread. Altogether we had a great good luck meal to usher in the new year.

Is there a similar custom in New England? I don't remember anything special being eaten on New Year's when I was a kid growing up in New Jersey. How about the other blog readers out there? Are there any customs for good luck in the new year where you live? Or have you heard of interesting customs elsewhere in the world? Leave a comment especially if it's a seafaring custom.
January 1, 2008 at 9:47 PM
Michele B said…
I love your idea of singing Christmas carols during the summer. Since we don't get a chance to celebrate the holidays together, I think we should have a Christmas-In-The-Summer singalong this year, during the weekly lobster-fest picnic. How about it, guys? It could be loads of fun!
January 2, 2008 at 10:37 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hail Mary

By
My heart is heavy with sadness as I write this particular blog. Since the beginning of August our dear friend and cook for the last 12 years, Mary Barney, had been struggling with cancer. I have intentionally respected Mary’s privacy and I apologize to you for not sharing any news about Mary’s health sooner. On Monday afternoon Mary passed away very peacefully at home, surrounded by friends and “family”. Her departure was as graceful as the rest of her life. Many people, including Jen, have been doing heroic work to support Mary these last few weeks. Oddly enough Mary was never very excited about transitions though this was about the fastest transition she ever made. And as I struggle to let go of Mary I realize I am terrible with transitions as well. We used to joke about how we liked things just the way they are, thank you very much, so why change what is working already even if it might be less labor intensive. Hard works is its own reward. I used to joke about getting Mary a Cui
28 comments
Read more

Fall Maintenance

By
Good morning everyone. The sun has been kind to us these past few days and the crew has been spending much time aloft prepping and painting the mast heads and tarring the rig as part of our annual fall maintenance schedule. They were a little silly on tar fumes by the end of the day hence the rat board dance moves. Am I the only one who is reminded of Willy Wonka's little friends at the sight of the crew in their tyvek suits? Schoona-loompas? The smell of tar, after all, is what we sailors live for. Extracted from the stumps and roots of pine trees through dry distillation pine tar will cure what ails you especially some skin conditions and any emotional maladies from being too long away from the sea. All we know for sure is that Mary Day’s rigging is kept hail and hearty by coats of tar mixed with boiled linseed oil. Notice that I specified boiled linseed oil and not raw linseed oil. Tar mix with raw linseed oil will not “kick”. Don’t ask me how I know this… just take my wo
5 comments
Read more

Oh Captain, Oh Captain, Please Don't Rumba!

By
Good morning everyone. Another 6” of snow fell this weekend and we took a few hours to enjoy the wonders of winter here in New England skiing in the woods. The full Wolf Moon on Saturday causing astronomical high tides plus a 1’ tidal surge brought by the low pressure system meant we had tides over the bulkhead in Camden. At low tide just the opposite happens and the tides dip well below normal. I was able to step to the docks from the beach and get aboard the schooner on Friday after work and all was well. I had an interesting email this morning from a wonderful gentleman looking for a vacation to replace a now defunct “windjammer” sailing experience that formerly sailed in the Caribbean. He sent us a very humorous swashbuckling note, complete with colorful pirate party images, wondering if we might be able to fill the void, complete with canons and limbo parties and would the captain be leading the rumba line? I regretted to tell him that we probably did not offer the booty he was
10 comments
Read more