Sunday night chit-chat, 24 June 2012

Carla says this can be a photo or saying.

“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” ~ Marcus Aurelius (121-180)

 

Reading
A friend gave me her copy of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. It's well written, but not an easy read. Also still perusing knitting and boat books.

Watching
Nothing of note. Grass growing. The mower won't start, and i think it might be time to consider a replacement. Hope either the mower can get fixed or we get a new one before it becomes a jungle out there.

Listening to
The birds singing. The phoebes have started nesting for their second brood of the season, and they've been calling a lot. The birds seem okay with no feeder.

Cooking/Baking
I'm making devilled eggs for a friend's bon voyage party tomorrow. I'm glad for her and her husband that their house finally sold, but sad for us that she's leaving.

Happy you accomplished this week
Changed the torn stern drain hose, and it was easier than i had anticipated. A sailing friend lent me a hex head screwdriver 10-in-1 tool that made things very much easier. Washed the boat down, and just need to change out the off season wood for the teak, outfit her, and she should be good to go. Need to test the outboard, too. I may have a mechanically inclined friend help with that.

Looking forward to next week
The boat should be ready for launching at the end of the week. If i didn't have to work full time, i'd be done by now. But, the job pays for the boat habit, so i can't really complain too much.

A hockey friend from my old location will be visiting with her partner next weekend, and they'll be here for several days. They want to do some hiking and tooling around, and we're planning on getting together for dinner and drinks.

Thankful for today
A few more items crossed off the To Do before Boat Launch list. Wonderful neighbours. And, that i saw the snake near the outdoor spigot before i got too close. I asked him to move away so i could disconnect the hose. He did, so i disconnected the hose and let him have his space.

Bonus question
What is the worst movie you've ever seen and couldn't be paid to watch it again?

I don't watch many movies, but two come to mind. One scared the crap out of me, underlining that i really can't handle anything over PG-13 scary stuff or violence, and that was The Exorcist. The other, that we rented with friends and watched was Unforgiven. How that won the Oscar, i'll never know. ALL of us disliked it, were glad we didn't pay movie price to see it, and figured Clint Eastwood got the Oscar for that because the Academy felt they owed him one.

Sunday Night Chit Chat, 17 June 2012

Carla says this can be a photo or saying.

 

 

Reading
Still perusing knitting and boat books. Also started looking at a basic woodworking book. There's just so much i don't know.

Watching
Who needs TV when you've got bears wandering in your yard? This fella came by Thursday morning. More pictures are here.

Listening to
Silence. It's nice to be quiet now and again.

Cooking/Baking
I got the last of the fiddleheads on Friday and have one more serving.

Happy you accomplished this week
Repaired the dinghy! I need for the glue to cure at least overnight and then i can check to see if there are any leaks i missed. Hoping not.

Found a local steel place near me that can lift the boat from the jackstands she's sitting on and move her onto the trailer!

Found the spreaders! Happy dance. You can read more about that here.

Looking forward to next week
Having the boat moved from the jackstands onto the trailer. If the weather holds and work isn't too insane, the boat might be ready for launch by next weekend. That would be nice.

Solstice. I think there's something magical about the longest and shortest days of the year. I still think of it occurring on the 21st, though. Would LOVE to find the spreaders. They aren't where i thought i had put them. I'd hate to think they walked off by themselves. Happy for any thoughts, prayers, or good vibes anyone wishes to lob my way so i can find them.

Thankful for today
BEAUTIFUL day!! Between yesterday and today got some boat stuff and mowing done.
Dear friends.

Bonus question
If you could have just one item off of your wish list right now, what would it be??

Wow. About 10 things all clamoured to be chosen; some of them i wouldn't feel comfortable sharing with BlogLand. I guess i'd say have enough set by for retirement so i could retire right now. There's just so much i'd like to do, and some things have to wait because i'm still working. I do like my job for the most part and like many of my colleagues and clients—but to think of having a space where i didn't have to work fulltime and could live as i'm living now would be wonderful.

Guess who came to brunch?

I telecommute, and when i have a tight deadline, which i have had all week, i tend to be in my own little world and cognizant of little else.

Just before 10.00 yesterday, i used the rest room and on my way back to the office, i happened to glance outside through the sliding glass door in the living room. It took me a full two seconds to understand what i was seeing.

To give an ideal of scale, the fence is about 3 feet/1 metre high.

When he had sampled enough of the bird seed on the ground, he decided it would be nice to have a taste of some of the suet i had in the suet feeder. On his hind legs, he's about 5 ft (1.53 m) tall.

Here, he seems to be testing the lazy susan feature of the suet feeder (which is a small log with holes drilled in it, which i stuff with suet). The shepherd's hook has gone from being perpendicular to the grass to a 58° angle more or less.

He decided to check out the ground again for any seed he may have missed.

JoJo was as interested in the proceedings as i was.

He left as quietly as he had appeared. I turned my back for a minute to check email as i heard the chime and was expecting an email regarding the project i was working on. In that minute, he vanished, and this was the aftermath.

Found the spreaders!

Thank you for all the good vibes, thoughts, and prayers. Yes, that which was lost has been found. Only they weren't lost, i simply didn't know where they were.

I was talking with Himself on the phone and said how i had looked without avail. He said that he remembered them being with the antenna for the radio, and he remembered the spreaders being grey. I had remembered them being black, but Himself has better recall with colours than i do. I knew right where the antenna was, it was in the red trunk. I remember placing it in there so it wouldn't get damaged in winter storage. I used the top tray for small items that i had aboard that i wanted to keep together and away from mice or chipmunks that insist on making their way in the barn.

After the phone call, i went to the barn, armed with a flashlight (torch) as daylight was fading, opened the trunk, removed the top tray, turned on the flashlight, saw the antenna straightaway, and next to it, two grey flattish things that i knew were the spreaders. Himself had gone to the trouble of labelling them in indelible marker, Port--Top and Starboard--Top. I smiled and turned them over. The underside was black. That's why i remembered them as being black. Because the boom and mast are both black. And, when your eye follows up the mast to the spreaders, they are also black to match the boom and mast.

I did a happy dance, thanked God repeatedly, and went back inside to call Himself with the good news.

And yes, i know i still need to continue with the boat story--i've been waylaid by real life, what with work and taking a week off to attend a friend's wedding then go sailing for several days. Then return to work to find myself extremely busy.

So, i haven't forgotten, but have some pressing things just now.

Oh, and i thought it might be best to add a photo for those who don't know what spreaders are. If you look at the mast (long pole thing in the middle of the boat, not the jib that's got the red sail stop) you see two black things intersecting that look something like a cross bar. It's not a cross bar, but each of those is attached to mast, and that is what the spreaders are. the little white things on the end of each spreader are boots.

Sunday night chit chat, 10 June 2012

Carla says this can be a photo or saying.

 

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain 

Reading
Still perusing knitting and boat books.

Watching
I did end up renting Unconditional Love. Other than that, i've been busy living outside so haven't watched anything on a screen.

Listening to
The frogs calling.

Cooking/Baking
Not much--made meatloaf for supper, and it tasted yummy.

Happy you accomplished this week
Some of the boat jobs on my to do list, especially putting in the new ports. Have to tighten the nuts the rest of the way now that the silicone has had time to set. I also cleaned and waxed the hull today. My arms are going to be sore tomorrow.

Had great fun sailing on my friend's schooner, even though the weather was cold and rainy for much of the trip. The other passenger aboard were lovely people, and we had tons of fun. 

Looking forward to next week
Whittling down the outstanding items on the boat jobs list. 

Would LOVE to find the spreaders. They aren't where i thought i had put them. I'd hate to think they walked off by themselves. Happy for any thoughts, prayers, or good vibes anyone wishes to lob my way so i can find them.

Thankful for today
BEAUTIFUL day!! Between yesterday and today got some boat stuff done and mowed what felt like a hayfield. It's now back to looking like a respectable lawn.

Dear friends.

Sunday afternoon chit chat, 03 June 2012

Carla says this can be a photo or saying.

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity." From The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Reading
Still perusing those knitting and boat books.

Watching
I want to rent Unconditional Love again. I found it to be a wonderful movie. Lots of great lines; the two that come to mind just now are "It was the valette" ["valet" spelled phonetically as it was said for that line] and "Nobody messes with a dwarf in a red raincoat."

Listening to
The rain. It's been teeming off and on all day.

Cooking/Baking
The last of the fiddleheads.

At the lovely b&b which was the overnight part of the wedding trip, the hostess, Sarah, made some lovely savory scones. gluten-free and yummmmyyyyy.

Happy you accomplished this week
Went to lovely wedding yesterday! It rained but that didn't dampen anyone's spirits or the joy of the occasion. :0) Drove home in rain the entire way, as the drive home followed the same direction as the weather.

Looking forward to next week
The rainy weather cancelled the sailing trip scheduled for today, but the season kicks off all the same tomorrow when guests arrive for the first trip of the season. I am helping out on this trip so shall be sailing most of the week.

Still working on the boat jobs list. Hope to get some respite from the rain to get the replacement ports in for real.

Thankful for today
A chance to have a lie around day. Haven't had one of those since i can remember when.

The kitties are glad a "usual human presence" is back. Although they knew both of the kind souls who kept them plied with wet food while the usual human presence attended the wedding (as this involved a stay overnight away from home), they were glad the others were only temporary replacements.