Frost on the Pumpkin

Good morning everyone. Hope you folks all had a great Thanksgiving surrounded by family and good friends or if you wish spent more quietly without much fanfare. Both have their virtues. The “gift” of the holiday season is upon us and I think Thanksgiving is just a good warm up for the next few weeks. Seems like keeping the expectations in check is the real trick, one I have not yet mastered by any stretch. It is good to see the inlaws and outlaws alike around the holidays but what is it about having family around that triggers all the old stuff? The cold hard truth is that I have yet to gain the maturity to realize that the “old tapes” are just that, old tapes that I can chose or not. Easy enough to say, wicked hard to do.

So we managed Thanksgiving complete with turkey and homemade table (scrap lumber and sawhorses). We did the required stuffing of the bird and then stuffing of ourselves. Good eats! The guests have departed and we begin re-entry into the “normal” lives we lead. We also celebrated Nadie's 7th birthday on Thanksgiving Day. Now she is something to give many thanks for.

The full Beaver moon was Saturday night. The frost is hard on the pumpkin and beginning to settle into the earth. I have been spending chilly mornings in the woods looking for deer. Sitting in the darkness listening to the woods come alive as sunrise approaches is nothing short of amazing. Soon enough the solstice will be here and with it the return of the sun. In the meantime we shall enjoy the holiday season with all the hope it brings to us and delight it brings to the kids. I will hear the old tapes playing hard for the next month and with a lot of work and a little help make some new tapes for our kids to enjoy.

Have a great day. Be well. Do good.

Comments

Hail Mary

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

Swimming Anyone?

Good morning everyone. Winter is still here in New England though it seems to be taking a rest these days. We have enjoyed a little bit of a thaw. We still have snow covering our field but it is thinning out in the sunny patches. Mary Day rests comfortably in the harbor, bilges dry, cover intact, waiting for the crew to return. Another busy week has passed so I will get you up to speed on everything that is happening here at the global headquarters. Jen is putting the finishing touches on year end taxes. Blockfest 2008 is finally finished. The blocks have received quite the massaging. And while we have the off-white paint out we are starting in on the lifeline stanchions, the davits, and a few other miscellaneous parts. Alex asked me last night how we were doing with our pace. We are doing great but in the back of my mind I know that there is never enough time to do it all. Having perfectionist tendencies is a curse. I want to do it all and know we will never have enough time. There se

Fall Maintenance

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

Sailing Vacations
A Maine Windjammer

Search This Blog