Skip to main content

Hip, hip, hooray!

Image
By
Good morning everyone. Well it was a wild weather weekend here at the global headquarters. Storm force winds were observed offshore and I am guessing they made here. We tried to sleep with the windows open but the wind was just too loud. Nature has a way of “reefing” the trees against the density of the cold winter winds and Saturday did a good job of depositing quite a few piles of leaves in the dooryard. Jen and I were up most of Saturday night on watch, checking the mooring lines and chafe gear. The house didn’t move much more than a inch or so off the foundation. Trees were down across the driveway. Sawyer and I had a few hours of bucking up firewood and chipping limbs. We had a few calls with the fire department sawing tree tops out of the local roadways.

Friday night we hosted our annual crew dinner here at the house with a surf and turf celebration. Sawyer built the campfire complete with tiki torches. Jen prepared a huge feast. I doubled as grill master serving sirloins and marinated chicken, and lobster chef. Once again, they couldn’t finish it all! Even Rob who seems to have a hollow leg reached maximum capacity. As I looked around the room I was humbled by the presence of such an amazing group of people and how they had found their way through what I will guess is the hardest summer of their lives. I am amazed at how well they accepted each other as team mates not just with tolerance but with absolute joy. They sat around the table and sang “I’ll Fly Away”. Jim Dugan Dot Com just couldn’t keep his hands off our computer tweaking a few things that will surely keep our learning curve on the steep. Mary just couldn’t keep out of the galley arriving several hours ahead of the fete to give Jen a hand with the food. I come away understanding just how blessed I am to know each of these individuals. They have taught me to laugh a little more, to be a little more patient. We can’t thank them enough for all that they have given. Three cheers for the crew. Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray. Hip, hip, hooray!

May you all be as blessed as we have been this season to be surrounded by such amazing people. Have a great day. Be well. Do good.
Labels:

Comments

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

We are Nuts

By
Good morning everyone. Well I just had to say it before you did. Yes, we are truly nuts. Now we have gone and added one more adventure to our already full lives. As you can see she is some cunnin'. We have named her Colby. We had a sign... literally. We were in the car brainstorming names on the way to get her at WalMart (yes, you heard it right) and there at the Waterville exit was a sign for Colby College. Colby just happens to be dear Mary's alma mater. It is also the name of one of my favorite ledges in Jericho Bay, the Colby Pup. It just seemed to fit just like the way she came to us. Nothing about our Sunday was going to be different than any other except that I just happened to be helping a friend get her generator back in the barn while Jen and the kids met her new puppy Sherman. They fell in love... so easy to do. We called and there were had two pups from the same litter available... no commitments yet. We had been having the long family debate for weeks about the k...
11 comments
Read more

Darkness and Light

By
Good morning everyone. OK, so this blog does not have a whole lot to do with schooners or windjammers or sailing vacations so if you want to leave now I will not be offended. Today is the winter solstice, as you know, the shortest amount of daylight in our calendar year here in the northern hemisphere. Of course it is the summer solstice on the other side of the equator. So I guess if you wanted to celebrate the summer solstice you wouldn't be at all in the wrong. I would applaud your ability to see outside the box. Map from Wikipedia commons Living and sailing in the mid latitudes (remember, Maine is half way to the North Pole) as we do, we experience a balance that spans a year's time, maybe many years' time. To feel the darkness of winter creeping quietly into our homes is not as bad it may appear from the outside. This is our season to rest... emotionally if not physically. We know it takes more physical energy to live and work here in winter. But when the sun goes down...
6 comments
Read more