Moving Mountains

Good morning everyone. Katie, Jen and I have been wicked busy trying to clean up fall outdoor projects before the snows of winter bury everything in the door yard under several feet of snow. "Twitching" tree length logs from the woods is the easiest way to get firewood to the splitter. One of our woods roads was blocked by the presence of a small building used to house our harbor tug "Chadwick". Katie was a little taken aback when I suggested we move the building to a more suitable location. "What could possibly go wrong?" Is it me or do all guys in their late 40s say, "Hold my beer. Watch this!" Hanging on to what tiny shreds of youth are still available it is like we pre-geazers are taking one last stab at believing we really are competent in the wrinkled face of our impotence.

Caution thrown to the wind we jacked the building up on to our 16 foot tandem axle flatbed. With this 20'X 12' building being of economy construction, 2x4s and recycled shrink wrap from the schooner, gross tonnage was hardly the issue. Our old 1941 Ford 9N scarcely missed a beat towing the entire rig up the hill and backing said building into a tight spot between a few other lumber sheds in the back 40. I only nicked one pile of firewood during the journey which is OK by me considering the "house of cards" potential at hand. I think Katie was impressed to have something new to put on her resume. Jen had a crook in her neck from shaking her head at the whole affair. And I, in my dream like state, believe I have staved off the wrath of time for another few minutes. But, isn't that part of the fun of all this windjammer stuff anyway? The schooner let's us do this superhuman stuff that folks ashore just read about. Feeling the tension of the wheel in your hand as the schooner scuds along in a stiff breeze gets the heart pounding and makes you feel alive. Now that is a sure cure for anything that ails you.

Have a great day. Be well. Do good.

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...

We are Nuts

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...

Galley Gadgets

Good morning everyone. As any of you who have sailed with me know I love gadgets. Creating new and easy ways of doing things is a fun challenge for me even if I am slow on the uptake. So here is a gadget I have tried before that I felt I should share with the universe. I am sure I am not the first person to think of this but, hey, this works slicker than greased owl droppings and it reeks just enough of red neck that the devil in me just has to laugh. We buy our peanut butter by the 9 lb. tub. The stuff we buy is that organic, all natural stuff with the hefty layer of oil on top when you open the lid. I have tried inverting the tub every few days to get the oil to work its way through but getting even consistency is still a challenge. Who hasn't got to the bottom of this kind of a peanut butter tub to find a layer of peanut butter cement? The mother of invention was not necessity. It was laziness as any of you who have tried to hand stir peanut butter will know. If you do not own a...

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