Can you hear it? - July 5, 2008 -
Our town does a fantabulous fireworks show. It’s on the bay, it is huge, and this year we had our boat and could motor on out and view it at anchor.
But we didn’t. Instead it poured rain all day, only clearing up in the late afternoon, so we stayed home and cooked. I made Chris’ potato salad, and this Flag cake, cupcakes, some BBQ ribs and baked beans. We stuffed ourselves, and then everyone showered and got in their jammies………well, not everyone. Let me rephrase that. I got in my jammies, and Bill and the kids went out front to wait and see if they could see the fireworks from our yard.
Bill called me outside as the sun was setting and told me to bring my camera. The sunset was just stunning. Red skies at night, sailor’s delight. I clicked away.
We never did see the fireworks…….the majestic coastal oaks blocked our view.
Then again, we might have been disappointed after seeing the Masters show……there was no music, no rockets, no bangs and pops.
But if you listened carefully, you could hear Creation sigh.
Meet Peep - July 2, 2008 -
Not only does Peep have a Mohawk, which makes him the stylin’ nestling on the block, but he also loves sky diving from 15 feet in the air.
Peep has no fear. You can have your well-dressed-for-work husband climb the huge ladder at 6:30 a.m. and place Peep the Cardinal back into his booby trapped nest in the twig filled oak tree…..but before your husband can glare at you as he steps off the last rung, Peep will come hurtling through the air and make a soft landing on the thick grass. And he will then peep.
Peep will spend the entire day doing this, until you come to your senses as you stand on the top rung, on the “DANGER: DO NOT STAND ON TOP OF LADDER. YOU MAY LOSE YOUR BALANCE AND FALL” sign and decide that if Peep needs sea level, Peep will get it.
Peep takes up residence in a decorative, old bird nest that your father found over 13 years ago. At first, you try placing the nest in the lowest branches of the tree (Duh). He continues to leap.
Your children watch him peep on the ground and they cry and rip their clothing in grief.
You KNOW that the parent cardinals are there, watching over their reckless youth. You have even seen them feed it a time or two, shake their heads and cluck “Tsk, tsk tsk…can you believe YOUR son”, but as the afternoon wears on, Peep gets a bit dehydrated and lethargic.
You load into the car and head to the local pet shop to buy Exact Hand feeding Formula for seed eating birds because Peep is a Cardinal, and they are way above eating bugs. Only the best mush will do.
As dusk settles in, you end up bringing the baby in and with the little nest, you place it in an old canary cage that belonged to your grandmother. Peep starts, well, peeping, so you mix the mush and give it to him via a syringe. His crop gets full, and he stops peeping and closes his eyes. You turn, walk to the sink, rinse the syringe and mixing bowl and as you set it down the peeping begins and the whole process starts over again.
Your husband makes it clear that if that keeps up all night, out goes Peep.
Peep only becomes quiet as night falls. The cage is covered, the kids are bathed and you ready yourself for bed. You stop at the cage to make sure the very quiet baby bird is still alive and you notice….something funny about his beak. It appears, in the dim light, that he has grown a second beak. The cage is taken to a bright light and the horror that Peep is silently tolerating becomes very apparent.
(changing to first person)
Peep had a worm crawling out of his left nostril. Yes, a worm. I had to stare at it for a minute before it moved, but move it did. Which left me in a very unusual position. I could either leave the large worm hanging out of the nostril (no, I did not get my camera) or I could get some tweezers and pull it out.
Yeah. I pulled the worm out of the baby birds schnoz with the tweezers. What about it? The little bird was so relieved. It was beyond gross, and I keep reaching up to rub my left nostril in sympathy for Peep.
I threw the worm out, along with the tweezers and when I came back in the house, Bill said “So, do you still want to keep the bird in the house. Yeeeeeah! Wouldn’t that be special to have a worm like that”.
Yes, Peep was promptly taken outdoors, and he and his little nest were comfortably deposited in the branches of a tree for the night.
Which brings us to today. The bird is still alive. We fed it outside all day, along with the parents (it does take a village, you know) and his feathers appear to be turning Cardinal red this evening.
No more nostril worm sightings, but there is still time before he is officially a fledgling and will hop/fly away.
In the meantime, it is that time of year. The babies are getting too big for their britches and the nestlings are acting like fledglings. The difference between the two is that a fledgling is supposed to do this, and a nestling is supposed to, as the name implies, stay in the nest.
If you see a bird with full feathers, hopping around on the ground and flying very short distances, this is okay. They are supposed to do that at this fledgling stage. They are not supposed to sleep in late, and borrow the car and money until they are 30.
Nestlings on the other hand can’t fly short distances. They are much more vulnerable to predators at this stage, so try and place them back into their nest.
If they are hell bent on hitting the pavement, and they are in a safe location free from dogs or cats, the best thing to do is leave them to their parents. Try placing them in a makeshift nest in the lower branches of the tree. The parents will continue to care for it. It is a HUGE myth that touching a baby bird will make its parents reject it.
Although I have to wonder if they would be inclined to if they saw a worm crawl out of their preshus baaaybeees nose.
**edit to add that this was written yesterday, and Peep spent another restful night in his makeshift nest in the tree. No guarantee that this little guy will make it, but so far so good.
***edit to add that we had a huge downpour of rain and as it started, went out to get Peep but could not find him. We spent forever combing the yard and he was nowhere to be found. We looked everywhere and finally gave up and went in, thinking his parents shooed him to safety. When the rain let up, we went outside to look some more, and finally found him. He had climbed into a low lying plant in our flower bed…..the same flower bed that floods. The poor, sweet little thing drown. We are so upset and sad. Mia especially. As I type this she is buried in the covers next to me sobbing. (HUGE SIGH)
Dancing with water - July 1, 2008 -
While my friend was here visiting from up north, I had the pleasure of getting to know her 2 girls. You will never meet a sweeter pair.
What I loved was watching them with Mia. It struck me over and over again how different little girls are from boys.
My boys would charge, full steam ahead, down the beach screaming and literally attack the sand and water with all their might. Everything was something to pounce or stomp on….sand castles were not safe and neither were plaster casts (yes, Cody got it a bit wet).
The girls, on the other hand, tippy toed down the sand to the water and started dancing with the waves as they splashed up onto a beach, transformed into gold by the setting sun. Prancing little fairies, captivating everyone.
Yin and yang, snips and snails, sugar and spice. I love what they are all made of.
Thank God the lion sleeps tonight - June 30, 2008 -
If I didn’t know any better, I would say that they built our house smack dab in the middle of a nature preserve. The amount of wild life here is fantabulous, and daily we are introduced to an array of little furry, slithery, wacky neighbors.
Meet Snakey
I had the pleasure of opening my front door and finding this rough green snake on the porch. Cory caught it, fed it a few crickets, then placed it back in the bush that it apparently lives in and we photographed it.
In the last couple of weeks, the animal tally has included:
-a coral snake
-a copperhead
-a baby ribbon snake
-a rough green snake
-numerous deer
-whistle ducks
-a baby cardinal
The baby cardinal fell out of a nest in the front yard, and I found it very early this morning huddled in the wet, cold grass. It had very few feathers and was shivering. I got Cory and Bill, and the enormous ladder, and my husband crawled up it and was able to place the tiny peeping baby into the very high nest with its siblings. (It is a myth that the mother will “smell” human scent and reject the baby….always, always try to place the bird back in the nest….if the nest is too high, create a makeshift nest, put the baby in it and place it as close to the other as possible).
We had a family of whistle ducks in our backyard a few weeks back, and had to hustle the tiny ducklings out of the yard and into the safety of the forest while both parents worked with us like herding dogs.
One night, I awoke in the middle of the night. I got up to check the kids, and as I passed the front door, peeped outside and saw a fox in the front yard.
Bobcats roam the forest land behind our house, so we have to bring Honey in at night…..not that we would ever leave her out at night. The dog is spoiled rotten and has her own spot reserved on our bed.
It is boy heaven here, no doubt.
Which brings me to the copperhead that I listed above. Yes, we had a viper in the yard as I mentioned in my previous post. It was right on the other side of the fence. I was working on the fence, and saw it slithering against the bottom, obviously curious to see what was making the scratching noise on the fence (I was scraping sand off of it). I grabbed a shovel, called for Bill and climbed the fence (all 6 feet of it).
As I stood on the top of the fence, Cory came out and climbed up too. We jumped down on the other side at a safe distance from the viper, and Cory said “What are you planning to do with that shovel mom?” My original intent was to kill the snake. But I stood there looking at it, then back to Cory and he pleaded “No mom, please don’t do that. If you kill it, there are probably 20 others watching from the forest. You can’t kill them all.”
The snake coiled up and just watched us. There was no aggression, and even when I moved to put the shovel near it, it did not strike. Cory got a long stick, and together with the shovel scooped it up and moved it a safe distance away from the fence. We were never in any danger and the snake slithered off into the forest.
After the coral snake incident, I was talking on the phone with someone, and she asked why we did not kill the snakes. When I explained to her that I didn’t think that was right, she said something like “Well, when one bites one of your kids and kills them, you may think differently”. They live in the country and frequently kill skunks, raccoons and other animals that “trespass” on the property (digging and what not). In an e-mail that I read out loud to Bill, we were told that squirrels were raiding the deer feeder and that if they could not keep them out with chicken wire, they would be prime targets for the gun, because the “corn is expensive”. Cody overheard me, and he said “What a horrible person, who wrote that?” and we told him who and he said “That makes me feel so sad”. Me too, son. Me too.
I have to ask, what is the point of living in the country if you kill all the wildlife that call it their home?
Cory is right. We have had 2 coral snakes in the front yard. If we had killed the first one, do you think that would have prevented the second one from coming into the yard? If I had killed the copperhead, do you think that it will make my yard immune to snakes?
We are firm believers in relocation when it is safe, not annihilation.
I can do my best to make my yard safe for the kids. Before they go out to play, I walk the area, and make sure there are no snakes. That is how I found the baby bird this a.m..
But I refuse to kill the animals to make our yard sterile and safe.
This neighborhood and all of the animals in it are lovely. I chose to exist with them. Not tower above the creatures, forcing my dominance on them, making my world “safe”.
The point is to leave as little of our fingerprint as possible.
My children will grow up and understand this concept, if I show it to them now.
To be true as the tide
And free as the wind-swell
Joyful and loving in letting it be.
He’d rather be sailing - June 27, 2008 -
The grooms cake at our wedding was German chocolate cake. Across the front the baker had scrawled “I’d rather be sailing”.
This is my husband in his happy place. He has always been and always will be content wherever he is, but it sure is nice to see him in his element.
Trolling - June 26, 2008 -
She didn’t catch a thing, but then again that wasn’t the point. Just being back there watching the wake was what it was all about.
Hang in the moment, my friends.
Wing on wing - June 25, 2008 -
Heading down wind, sometimes the jib (front sail) just needs to flop over on the opposite side from the mainsail. This is called sailing wing on wing. I love this point of sail on a day with just enough wind to keep both sails out.
It was the kind of day that had us jumping off the bow of the boat and swimming around to the stern as the boat glided by. Bill had thrown a line and flotation device off the stern, so as the boat sailed past, you could grab it and pull yourself to the swim ladder.
We anchored at our favorite island, grilled some sausage, and spent most of our time in the water.
I can handle a summer filled with days like that. No doubt.
Bouyancy - June 25, 2008 -
Salt water is like a healing balm. There is nothing like immersing your body in it.
It frees your mind and calms your soul.
Slip into the liquid, dudes.
No friend of Jack - June 24, 2008 -
I have this problem with my oldest.
You see, this house we live in is surrounded by wildness. Alligators, foxes, bobcats, coyotes.
And my son loves wildlife. He loves it in a way that is visceral and instinctual.
This weekend my friend S and her dad both smiled and laughed when I vained bewilderment about where he gets it from. They know me and are perfectly educated about my animal exploits.
So yes, I was like him, but he is so….much braver. Much more aggressive and forward with his passion. Maybe the difference between male and female, I don’t know. But some of the stuff he does I would never attempt.
Yes, I have a problem. It looks something like this:
What? You don’t see the problem? Here, take a closer look.
And closer yet.
Hint: “Red on yellow, kill a fellow”
My husband, the genius, came inside this morning saying, for the second time since living here: “Cory, blah blah blah, CORAL SNAKE, blah blah blah” and we all ran outside to VIEW the pretty little snake. View I say.
Only, while I was standing there, wondering how in the hell I was ever going to let my barefoot children step foot in the grass EVER AGAIN, to my horror, my son reached down and plucked it up by its tail.
Yes, that is what I said….HE PICKED UP THE CORAL SNAKE WITH HIS BARE HANDS.
And I died. Right then and there. It was insane. But I didn’t go to the light. Instead, I had flashbacks of kissing his fat baby feet and hands and now I was watching as those same hands held deceptive beauty. Bill said something like “My God son, put that down”. I was calmly hysterical, yelling “Drop it. Drop it”.
See how well he listens.
Yes, I know. You are all agast. How could I let my son pick up a poisonous snake. Well, you tell me what you would have done???? Reach over and yank it out of his hands? Ground him off the Wii? This is so much bigger than that. 2 weeks ago a Copperhead found its way to our fence, and my son had hopped the fence with me and was begging me not to kill it with the shovel. Instead he grabbed a long stick and the shovel and maneuvered it safely away from the house.
I said “Cory, I can’t have that thing near my yard” and he replied “Mom, if you kill that one, there are probably 20 others watching from the grass out there. You can’t kill them all, you know”.
We have told him repeatedly not to pick up snakes in the wild. We have said this until we are blue in the face. We have grounded him. Taken away privileges. We think it sinks in, and then our 10yo will tell us that Cory chased a Cottonmouth at the creek. So we ground him forever from the creek here…..seriously.
I am thinking we must build on this…whatever it is he has…this snake charming, amphibian loving gift.
I will be making some calls etc to people I know in the field……he needs a professional herpatologist to discuss the safety issues with him. He is 13 and we are his ignorant parents.
And beyond a shadow of a doubt, he has surpassed his mom in his animal exploits.
The littlest hippie - June 23, 2008 -
Miss Mimi sporting the latest and greatest in beach bum hair fashion………the hippie hair wrap.
Mom got some too.
Way, way south - June 20, 2008 -
What? Did you think we took off on the boat, never to return again? Oh how I wish, but no.
We went way, way south with a very dear friend and her 2 girls. Awesomeness was had by all, and the mommies reconnected over some yummy adult beverages. We had not seen each other in person in over 7 years. We talk on the phone several times a week, but life makes it hard for us to meet up face to face. We have vowed to change that, and ski trips and Mexico vacations were discussed over margaritas in a palapa as the kids frolicked in the sand under the rising moon.
Summer is in full swing, and life is going full speed ahead. Boat trips, trailer trips and all the fun they entail are in our future, but no solid plans have been made.
We are just rolling with the tides right now, taking time to applaud the rising moon over the ocean and the brilliant sun setting on days spent under her brilliant light.
Today was particularly wonderful in that my friend Chris got the “all clear” on a recent CAT scan she had. Now THAT is worth a thousand fabulous moon rises and sunsets.
It’s all good and then some.
On the ocean, you can hear Creation - June 9, 2008 -
“After 47 years of living aboard- 37 of them with my wife, Carolyn- I’m still enthralled by Mother Ocean. I see God’s face in every wave, every cloud, every sunset. My boat is my church: Deep ocean is the only place I’ve learned to pray. At sea, I’m always in the moment. I taste the tangy salt air. I hear the dove-wing flutter of my jib leech. I feel the life pulse of the waves, chuckle at my wake, watch Wild Card’s bow throw diamonds at the sky. It’s so lovely.
Sometimes I believe I can hear the Earth spinning on its axis, and it’s difficult not to cry out with the perfection of it all”…..Captain Fatty Goodlander, “Lovely, Lonely Atolls”, Cruising World June 2008
The written word can be such a powerful thing. It has the ability to pluck on your heart strings and send your soul flying above the din and chaos.
Good writing must stir your soul: it can make you laugh out loud, cry with joy or sorrow or make your heart swell with complete and total rapture.
If you want to know what sailing feels like to me, subscribe to Cruising World and read Captain Fatty’s articles….particularly the one I referenced above. You can also hear him on NPR.
He writes poetry of the sea.
The summer of my German Soldier - June 5, 2008 -
Here is a random image. Look how adorable Mia is in her little ballerina outfit. And Bill got new shorts. Plaid is in again, you know. Especially with Quicksilver. He got some Topsiders too and actually wore them……when he walked out of the bedroom with his Crocs on, I threatened him with grave bodily harm if he was even seriously considering that sad ensemble.
Does anyone see anything else special about this photo? Anything that simply, you know, contradicts anything involving water and sand……because it is not like we are surrounded by water and sand or anything.
We work our swabs to the bone - June 4, 2008 -
Crashing on deck after a day of pirate play…..such is the life of a coastal kid.
Inching out of the spotlight - June 4, 2008 -
It gets pretty toasty on the boat. Our bimini does not completely cover the cockpit, so when you are at the helm, you are in full sun. Bill has spent a considerable amount of his life in the sun surfing, so in the above pic, he was streeeeeeeeetching to the helm from the cover of the bimini.
I have had numerous people ask me where my archives went. They have expressed that the posts that I wrote about Bill were very moving and that I should put my categories back up so that others could read them in the future.
Each and every post is still available online, but you have to scroll back one page at a time to view them. Why did I do this?
Well, the simple fact of the matter is I wrote some very personal and heart felt posts about my husband. Everything that we went through, we did it together (the whole one body thing you know), so it was my story as well as his. But the thing is, when we moved, I felt that it was important to give him some privacy, therefore I removed my archives.
Until Wordpress comes up with a mass edit (HINT, HINT WORDPRESS) or until I sift through 800 or so posts and re-organize my archives, hang tight with posts from the present or recent past…..or if you are really patient, you can sift through 800 pages of my blabber.
Bill inched into the shade, and brought my archives with him. They’ll be back soon……with just a tad bit more sunscreen.
Father, daughter - June 3, 2008 -
2 years ago this month, life flipped upside down on hits head, and told us this was the new normal….being topsy turvy and full of anxiety. If you told me back then that all was going to be okay, I would have filleted you.
I saw the above sight on Saturday, and really thought I might just sit down on the steps of that auditorium and have a good cry.
My husband was here with us, well and fit, to watch his tiny daughter dance.
Folks, THAT is the definition of paradise. Not the sand between my toes or the salty wind in my hair.
If you are surrounded by the ones you love, and can feel the presence of God in the turn of your life, then you tell me what else could you possible need.
First recital - June 2, 2008 -
No words. It was so precious it almost killed me.
Yes, if I have to go, please make it death by precious overload.
If you have the Troggs on your iPod, you are a hippie - May 28, 2008 -
I was informed by my 13yo this weekend that Bill and I are hippies. Hippies, people.
We were returning from picking up one of his friends, I had “Get Together” by the Youngbloods playing on the iPod and his exact words, delivered with a totally adorable smile, were “You guys (Bill and I) are so totally hippies. You surf, want to spend all your time at the beach, you want to live on a boat, and you listen to all that hippie music.” Hippie music being all the 60’s music.
I was like “Dude, Peace out!!” and his friend was smiling and laughing in the back seat.
Hippies. Whatever gave him that idea?
Stainless, baby - May 23, 2008 -
I had ordered Sigg, but cancelled the order when I realized that they are aluminum. Aluminum + boat = dents, high heat (which = ruined “secret chemical liner” and leaching of yuk into the water) and lots of money down the drain.
Let me emphasize that normal, everyday land people do not have these issues. I would find it highly unlikely in a normal household for a Sigg to launch itself off a shelf and fly across the room unaided. I also doubt that one would reach thermonuclear temperatures sitting on a kitchen table. So, Sigg is uber cool, and I wiped away a tear from Mia’s face when she realized she was not going to get the Hello Kiddy water bottle. I need these puppies to be able to withstand a visit with Mother Nature and her mighty powerful waves.
Since ours will primarily be used on Calypso, I had to take these things into consideration. Boats get hot. I mean, since they float around on the water soaking up the rays and with no air conditioning, well, we get toasty. Stuff also gets thrown around. Yes, we stow things when we are in motion, but I refuse to be the water bottle police with my kids, chasing them around asking if they have put them someplace safe. I will be too busy drinking rum and getting a tan on deck for any of that nonsense.
So, I found Klean Kanteen, and called the company and fell in love. Stainless steal + boat = cold water, no leaching, and no dents.
The Kanteens came in the mail yesterday, and I LOVE them. They are thick, sturdy, and I have not had one dirty cup in my sink since I handed them out. The kids fill them with filtered water from the fridge, so I have not even had to bring down the water dispenser yet.
Then I found these cool thingies, and I ordered 6, with a different color for each one of us, so now we can tell our bottles apart, and avoid the sweating that stainless is known for. (I got the cool dots. Awesomeness)
I bought the bottles off of Kleen Kanteens website, but due to HUGE numbers of orders with the BPA publicity freak out, they are taking a 2 week break to restock and figure out how to meet such huge demand for reusable water bottles. So, I browsed around on the Reusable Bags site after ordering my wetsuit thingies and found this pairing. That is a pretty big savings when you buy them together like that. I found a coupon code for 20% off as well.
So, if you have not jumped on board with saving our planet yet and reducing the risk of our children having 2 headed babies one day, go get a reusable water bottle.
I bought the 27oz for everyone except Mia. She got the 18oz and it fits her perfectly. I am also very happy with the water bottle lids. They have a little cap that is attached to the neck of the bottle, so it won’t get lost. The top pops up easily. Mia has no problems with it.
I’ll let you know how I like them in a few weeks after we have tossed them around a bit etc.
And if you are wondering…….no, I am not advertising. None of that horse s&*t here. I am just really pleased with the quality of these bottles and wanted to share the love, dudes.
Icehouse - May 22, 2008 -
I just freeze
Every time you see through me
And it’s all over you
Electric blue
Be prepared - May 19, 2008 -
It was overcast, and we were offshore. The seas were wild. Everything looked gray and gloomy.
The boat we were on was a Formosa 51′. I find it weird that this detail was in my brain. The decks were wooden planks, but every time a gust of wind and a wave hit us, she heeled over and you had to grab onto something to keep from slipping across the deck in spite of the wood.
I was at the back of the boat tending to something, when I turned and looked toward mid-ship. I shook my head in disbelief at what I saw, but as much as I tried to wish it away, the image of Mia (3yo), in all her tinyness, standing on deck without her life jacket on would not go away.
The boat was in the trough of a wave, and therefore somewhat flat, but I turned to see a wave approaching, so I flung myself toward her. See, I knew what was going to happen and it did. The wind hit the sails, the boat rose on the swell, then heeled over to port as it raced down the wave, and I watched in horror as Mia slid down the deck toward the life lines. I screamed out “Man overboard” as I saw her tumble over the side of the boat.
I looked behind the boat to see her attempting to swim and stay on the surface. I made a mental note of where she was in the boat wake, and then jumped off the boat. Bill threw me a life preserver, and I grabbed it and started to swim toward where I thought she was.
The waves became smooth and rolling. I screamed out her name. Everything around me got silent. She did not reply. It was at that moment that I knew she had gone under…..that I would never find her, and I jolted awake.
This is what I dreamed on Saturday night. To call it a nightmare is an understatement. It was so real. All the way to the feel of the teak wood deck and the humid air around me, to the utter panic I felt when I knew without a doubt that she had gone under and there was no way that I would find her in the murky, murky, enormous depths.
When I awoke, I pulled my daughter close to me and held her, listening to her breathe. I put my hand on her chest and the beating of her heart slowed down the pounding of my own. I was disturbed beyond belief. I finally fell back to sleep at dawn.
I had no idea I was harboring such thoughts. Such tremendous worry. I have had a dream like this once before. I think it is every sailing parents nightmare.
I am asked questions all the time from parents who don’t sail and can’t believe that we do with 4 kids.
“How do you watch them all?”
“What would you do if one of them fell off?”
“How can you put them at such risk?”
I have friends who keep little special hammers in their cars in case their auto gets washed into the water during a flash flood while they and their kids are in it. I have heard people verbalize fear of this happening and they ask “How would I get them all out in time?”
Obviously, sailing parents wonder the same thing….how do I keep them safe in rough weather or if we, God forbid, capsize?
As my husband says, simply: “Well, you will just do it. Stop worrying and just be prepared.”
My children are in life jackets at all times on the boat. When we are at anchor, they are allowed to take them off below deck, but on deck, they must have them on, no questions asked. My 13yo is the only one who is allowed on deck without one……in the bay. Offshore, EVERYONE will wear a life jacket and be clipped into a life line.
My nightmare is not a far fetched scenario. It could happen. Mia knows how to take off her life jacket by herself. She could wander on deck in the confusion that happens during a storm.
The key word here is “could”. She could. But WOULD she? Probably not. She has been grilled and trained that the life jacket is a part of her, and she knows this. She has been educated about safety on a boat until she probably wants to bang her head against wood. And she will continue to hear about it. See, it is much like anything that you teach your children, such as wearing a helmet when riding a bike, or not touching a hot stove.
But the fact of the matter is…she is 4, and I am the one in charge of her safety, not her. Same with my 7yo, 10yo and 13yo.
I love the Congers motto, that the most dangerous thing on the boat is probably mom, because it is so dang true. I take being vigilant to a new level when we step on the boat.
For the first few months, as I bellowed orders and freaked out every time someone even approached the life lines, my husband would have to tell me “Back off. We want this to be FUN for them. No one is going to die”.
Your damn straight no one is going to die. Hyper-vigilaaaaant Mooooom is on duty.
And then I started to chill out, and life got enjoyable on the boat…..
Secretly, I have my supermom costume on just below my clothes. I am always on guard. I watch them constantly, and never let them out of my site while on deck. I make the little ones go below in squalls and heavy air, always. I believe in avoiding tragedy and will leave the life learning lessons for dockside. It is one thing for your child to learn that the stove is hot by touching it, it is quite another to learn the shock of falling off a boat while under sail offshore.
My dream is not some premonition of things to come. It is a reminder that the unexpected can happen and it is my job to think fast and never let my guard down. I do believe I can handle that.
But I can tell you one thing……..the image of my child, in that dream, rolling off the boat without a life jacket on in heavy seas will NEVER be erased from my mind.
**The above image was taken on a day that the weather predicted partly sunny skies and winds 5-10mph. I snapped it right before the first of many squalls came blowing through, then sent the littles down below. Those calm waters didn’t last long. The bay got just a bit angry, and the winds were blowing 15-20 with gusts up to 25 and higher. By offshore standards this was a nothing day. Bill laughs that I use it as an example. We have certainly sailed in much heavier weather. My point is, being prepared, regardless of weather predictions, can be the difference between going home smiling and talking about a fun day of sailing -vs- having to shell out some big bucks on a ripped sail or much, much, much worse….an injured kiddo.
Defying gravity - May 15, 2008 -
I love this picture. Why? Well, for one thing it has a hot surfer in it. But you knew that, right? Slim, broad shoulders…ahem.
It is a baby wave….nothing spectacular. Kinda sloppy and mushy as waves go, to tell the truth. But I love it because it is so typical….the arm flying out, sometimes grazing across the water. The way his body leans at angles that defy gravity. How relaxed he is on a board. I am not sure if I can say that I have ever seen him fall.
I love this picture because it is my definition of contentment. Laid back, healthy, hanging on a board on an island in the sun.
La flippin’ buena vida, baby.
On an island in the sun, we’ll be playin’ and having fun. And it makes me feel so fine I can’t control my brain. ~ Weezer
Introducing the newest grommet of the family! - May 12, 2008 -
Wading out into the surf with her dad
Are you ready? Here you go!!
Steady!! You can do it!
Almost up!!!
Whoo hoo!! Go wahine Mia!!
And down she goes…
She was so stoked, she turned the board around and was ready to do it again.
She pretty much stood up on every wave Bill pushed her into. Bill would shove her into the wave, and run behind her, so she was safe. It was a blast to watch….and a bit nerve wracking. The board flipped over and landed on her at one point, but she stood up, flipped it around and was right back out there again. She is tough as nails.
At the end of the day she told me “I want to go home and watch “Surfer Girls” (Blue Crush) with you, Mom.” (imagine my heart exploding)
There is no doubt about it…….she is hooked.
Would Madame like some dessert - May 9, 2008 -
Heathers dog Chuck is dog cool to the 9th power. The pup is obedient and well trained, no doubt.
But can he do this?
**edit to add that this little lizard creature is named Geek. He belongs to my son Quinn and is a Leopard Gecko. He is the most docile creature ever. Mia was playing “house” with him in her Pony Teapot, and was putting little pony food etc on Geek and this is how I found him. I spewed coffee, LMAO and ran for my camera.
God’s gift to me is seeing him enjoy the sea again - May 8, 2008 -
And we climb and climb, and at the top we fly. Let the world go on below us, we are lost in time……………….. 
In My Dreams by REO Speedwagon
Helmsman - May 6, 2008 -
I have been away from the helm here for a bit. We had a family emergency and had to travel out of town for several days. My FIL was quite ill and to make a long story short, ended up with a couple of stents around his heart.
All is well now, and they are on their way back home as I type this.
Things I am grateful for today:
-God and his miracles.
-My FIL….the man is the sweetest, most gracious man and I am so happy we will have him with us for a longer time frame than what was supposed on Wednesday.
-My MIL, who loves her husband and is a most awesome example of a wife.
-My BIL and SIL who made Bill and I laugh like we have not in a very long, long time.
-My friends who took my children in and cared for them so we could go and tend to my FIL.
-Life. Because it is a short ride, and we really need to spend more time appreciating it.
Enchanted - April 30, 2008 -
We are feeling the pull of summer here. The days are consistently warm now, and in spite of old man winter trying one last time to lay his hand on us at the coast, the sun is out and bathing suits, baggies and tanks have taken over our town.
With the warmth and gorgeous weather comes the inability for us to stay focused on our home schooling. We procrastinate in the morning until the next thing we know, it is lunch and we have not even opened up a book.
I find myself drawn to the boat more and more. It is where I want to be…surrounded by her warm teak wood, the heat of the deck underneath my feet, and the sound of the wind in the rigging
So, to shake things up a bit, we have been heading to the boat mid-morning and spending the day there. We sit in the cockpit and do math, science and read while gulls fly past and ducks beg for food off the transom.
You would think that is would be distracting, but the fact of the matter is, we get more done there and I don’t find myself frustrated by resistance from him. Even math gets done without the constant struggle we normally have.
………………….well, I never said he liked it. Blek, me either, but it is a necessary evil. A tool he will use to figure out how the universe works. So learn it he must.
After school work is done, we make lunch and eat it on the bow of the boat, watching the weekday activity on the docks that is so different from the hustle and bustle of the weekend. The live aboards wash their boats, carry laundry back and forth from the clubhouse, and everyone has their coffee in the shade of a palapa, talking about the weather, fishing conditions and other boat talk. We watch for a bit, then we go swimming.
When we were in the process of buying Calypso, it seemed like such a hassle. From the time we found her to the day they handed me the keys, it took almost 6 weeks. It was so frustrating and maddening. We had planned on staying at the coast for the month of June, but the difficulties in securing title on the boat extended our stay by a month, and in that time we fell in love with this place. You see where I am going with this? That’s right….coincidences. I just don’t believe in them. I believe in fate. That things happen for a reason.
The name we chose for the boat is significant to me on so many levels. Since I was a child, I was drawn to the sea. I grew up watching Jacques Cousteau, and would climb aboard Calypso with him every week to explore the mysteries of the deep. I ached to be part of that world. I knew, even as a child, that God had given me this desire. It was part of me, the way my hand and foot were. I loved the ocean and all of its creatures with a passion that was palpable to those around me.
Like some migrating animal, at 19 I pointed my car south and rooted myself in sand. Galveston was my Archipelago, my Galapagos…a place that shaped me and helped me evolve into what God had willed for me all along.
I lived there for 12 years………and then we moved inland. I believe that moving from my watery world and onto solid, arid ground was meant to be. We needed to grow and change in ways that were not possible in Galveston.
It would be another 12 years before we found our way back to the coast.
I am not sure I could have continued to appreciate my aquatic gifts if we had remained in Galveston. I think I lost myself when we moved inland, and only by losing yourself can you find your way back to your purpose and appreciate it for what it is.
Calypso brings me full circle. I am that child again, splashing in the water, turning over every rock in search of creatures, wild hair flowing, a smile perpetually on my face. Last week, I stretched myself out in the sun on her bow as we sailed over a glassy sea. I reached out my arm and tried to touch the water………..I don’t want to just touch it, I want to understand it. What an amazing thing God made. I want to help others understand it. I want to fight to save it and all of the creatures it holds. I truly believe that God planted this gift inside of me and it is time to let it grow again. Time to plant it in my children as well.
They will grow up in a place that I only dreamed of as a child. They will splash and play in the waters of my childhood mind, and I will get the joy of teaching them about it and experiencing it with them.
Jacques Cousteau once said “”One protects what one likes….and one likes what enchanted us.”
The definition of enchant is: to attract and move deeply : rouse to ecstatic admiration
I intend, with Calypso, to enchant my children.
Aye Calypso - April 26, 2008 -
I sing to your spirit…………………..we have named her. Enjoy.
Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com
War of the Roses - April 22, 2008 -
We have little silent battles at our house.
Remember Bill the minimalist? If he does not like some nick knack that I have, he will simply put it away. After a day or a few, I will notice it missing, and start the hunt. Upon finding said object, I will place it out again in its proper place, Bill will see it and start the whole process over again.
These little silent exchanges go on forever at times, some lasting months, until it happens when I am on my period someone finally cracks or the object literally disappears.
Bill and I have our own sinks for the first time in our married life. We have so much bathroom space it feels sinful. I never knew that loving a bathroom was possible. In our old house, the one bathroom was a place to get in and out of as fast as you could so the next person, who could be all of 3, wouldn’t pee on the hardwood floors outside the door. Now, I have my own space. I can take a long, hot bath uninterrupted (the genius of locks on doors that do not require a skeleton key that was lost around the turn of the century…boggles the mind), and can hide from the kids sit in my carpeted walk in closet and read a magazine in peace. Yes, I am that weird.
As you know, I decorated our bedroom/bath with ocean decor….seashells, coral, etc. On each sink, I have a little shell filled with seashell soap, some red coral, seashells and hand soap. It drives my husband up the wall. Stuff! On his side of the sink! A place that must be bare so that he can wipe it down without having to move stuff around.
Almost every morning, the little soap dish on Bill’s side is moved somewhere in the bathroom, and his coral is relocated to the garden tub. When I discover it, I move it back. This has been going on now since September. We never say a word to each other. Little, silent, playful battles.
Saturday morning, I woke up to this:
Which side do you suppose is mine?
La luna - April 20, 2008 -
What makes me amazed about this picture is the fact that I took it while on a boat, in 20mph winds, with the boat swinging in a wide arch at anchor, and without a tripod. I used the 70-300 lens with Vibration Reduction, and I have decided I want to marry this lens and have it’s babies.
Dockside playground - April 16, 2008 -
What I love about these pictures is how comfortable my kids look on the boat. They are relaxed and at home on the water.
It is their playground. How cool is that?
She rows - April 14, 2008 -
….at least for about 5 minutes. That is about all my perfectionist husband could take of going round and round in circles.
I cannot believe the fat roll I am exhibiting here. Happiness makes the gut grow larger, right? Reminder to do more sit ups!
Because I am an addict - April 14, 2008 -
What would a gorgeous sunrise on the deck of your boat be without a warm cup of cappuccino in hand?
Yes, I swear. I figured out how to make a fantastic cup of steaming espresso loveliness on a boat. I am a freak of gigantic proportion.
As Bill was rowing the dog to shore for a walk of utter futility, I pulled out the the stove top espresso maker and the other supplies necessary.
The espresso was easy. The above setup makes some excellent espresso, and all I had to do was make the foamed milk.
Voila
The battery powered Aerolatte, some Organic milk(Horizon single serving, no refrigeration necessary), and a frothing pitcher. Froth the milk while heating on the stove using the pitcher, add to your espresso and there you have it.
Now head outside on deck with your cappuccino, and enjoy the gorgeous, calm water, the rosette spoonbills flying overhead, and the amazing sunrise that words nor pictures can describe.
Boat dog - April 12, 2008 -
Some dogs just never figure out being on a boat. They are afraid of the water. They don’t get their balance. The unfamiliar surroundings paralyze them with fear.
And they never figure out how to potty on a boat.
This last issue can be the deciding factor on whether a dog will ever acclimate to cruising.
Honey loves being with us. She craves it. So it was only natural that we tried to take her with us on the boat. She did quite well on her first few day trips. She found her balance. She accepted the boundaries of the life lines, and she had a just the right amount of respect for the water, without being too scared to enjoy the ride.
But she would not go potty on the boat. Not a big deal on a day cruise, but on a weekend away she would have to figure it out or not return with us on future long cruises.
There are many different ways to get a dog to do their business. Some people tie astro turf to the foredeck. Some put it n the cockpit. I have even heard of one story about a dog that refused to go no matter what the owner did…even bringing actual grass and putting it in the cockpit. Alas the dog would not go, so it never cruised agan.
We didn’t do anything special for Honey. We figured when she needed to go, she would just…go.
The evening came and went. She slept through the night in the aft cabin with Quinn, Mia and I, and when morning dawned, Bill took her on deck with no luck. So, he decided to row her to shore.
“Bye sweetie! I’ll have some coffee ready when you get back Have fun!”
It was quite a way to shore.
He rows the dog to shore, walks her up and down the beach FOREVAH, and she would not go potty.
So…. he rowed back to the boat.
Honey jumped back on the boat, ran to the foredeck and promptly pooped. Then she ran to the back transom and peed off the back of the boat……like a seasoned sailor.
We washed it off the boat via a bucket of sea water, and that was that.
She is now officially a swab.
Dinghy ride - April 11, 2008 -
To get back and forth to the island, we rowed the dinghy.
I use the term “we” loosely. It is more like “I” sat in the back of the dinghy sipping coffee, while watching “we” row it.
I had the best seat in the house.
Um, yeah.
Flex, relax, flex, relax. I may have even said “Hey, baby, aren’t you hot? Why don’t you take off your jacket?”
Please, for the love of all things holy, ignore the cutoffs (agan!) and the granny wear over sun shades. I try. The only thing I can take solace in is the fact that he is ordering some prescription Costa Del Mar’s and then I will let the kids ride over the wear overs repeatedly with their bikes.
Where was I?
Oh yeah, right here
I even got this treatment
Spoiled! Rotten! Not the cute one in the front of the boat (although that could be the subject of many guest posts on my blog by my boys), but the coffee sipping princess lounging in the back.
It sucks to be me. ;*)
Cooking - April 11, 2008 -
There are two ways to cook on a boat. With a gimbaled propane stove inside, or with a propane grill out on the deck.
We have not purchased a grill yet for the boat, as they cost as much as a nice backyard grill, so that leaves us with the stove inside for now.
Obviously I could not bring any meat with us. There is just no way to keep it cool. We don’t have a refrigerator, and the cooler full of ice does not keep it cold enough for safety reasons. There is dry ice, and that is something I will use on longer trips, but for this excursion, I opted for non-perishables. Simplicity to start with.
The dinner I had planned that evening was whole wheat pasta with bruschetta and rolls. Mmm. I chose whole wheat egg noodles both for their protein and that they cook in 1/2 the time of regular noodles. Remember, we are on a “preserve our resources” mantra, and the propane tank is smallish, so the less cooking time the better. I am sure l could run the stove as a heater, and the tank would have plenty of propane, but until we figure out the the longevity of the tank, I will be conservative.
The stove is gimbaled, meaning when the boat heels over, the stove is on hinges that allow it to move with the boat to keep a level surface. It also has little “grips” that hold the pots on the top.
“Too many cooks in the kitchen” takes on a whole new meaning in the galley (kitchen) of a boat. I mean, just look here:
That spot in front of the stove? That is the galley. It is off limits to the kids when I am cooking. There is barely enough room for one person to stand. If the kids came in there, well hell, they might bang the stove and knock the pot of boiling noodles off………or my Tecate (shudder). So, no kids in the galley unless they are in charge of the meal.
Other things to cook would be rice, beans, soup, bread, etc etc. You know, you just have to plan things and get a bit more creative.
Clean up for us is a bit more time consuming than on land. I do not use paper plates for the obvious reason…….what to do with the trash when there is no trash pickup in an isolated cove? I bought some plastic plates for now:
They wash easily and won’t shatter or break.
I will defer the topic of the use of soaps etc. to the lovely Toast, as she wrote an excellent article on doing more with less. In addition, water on a boat is precious, so conserve, conserve, conserve. For the dishes, I put some water in the sink, put just a dab of soap on the scrubber, wash the dishes, then rinse them on the other side of the sink. Bill dries and puts them away.
Other meals consist of breakfast rolls, sandwiches, pesto dips and crackers, and fruit. And beer………you do know that the beer must always have ice. The small cooler we did have with ice? It contained the beer and cheese.
Priorities, people.
Next topic: where does the dog pee….or does she at all?
Sleeping on a boat - April 10, 2008 -
The sun sets, you put your camera away, and after a bit of cabin time, you ready the kids for bed. Tired does not describe the way you feel. It is more like your brain is shutting down, and you need to sleep to stop it from dying.
There is really nothing like sleeping on a boat…..the waves lapping up against the hull. The sight of the immense sky filled with stars like you have never seen before right outside your cabin window.
On the other hand, there is also nothing quite so nerve wracking as sleeping on a boat filled with your children and the only thing holding you to the same spot is an anchor that YOU deployed and helped set. An anchor that the wind is trying its best to dislodge as your boat swings in a wide arch, tugging on the line disappearing into the water.
Your husband sleeps on the port settee so that he can stand up every hour and look out the hatch and make sure we are not drifting blindly into the shipping channel. You would take turns with him, but you know that tonight there is no way that sleep will find him even if he knows someone else is on watch….someone that loves his family as fiercely as he does.
Sleep comes and goes and during the wakeful times you find yourself looking out the hatch at the stars, trying to gauge, by the movement of the big dipper back and forth across your line of sight, if you are dragging anchor.
You set the anchor drag alarm on your GPS to 40 feet, because the swing of the boat is so great, if you set it anything less it will sound every 3 minutes.
The kids sleep like rocks. One in the v-berth, one on the starboard settee, and you sleep in the aft cabin with the 2 little ones…….the dog curled into a ball at your feet.
The big dipper sways back and forth, back and forth across the window, its path getting shorter and shorter as the wind eases………the next thing you know, you open your eyes and the sunrise has begun.
Stowing crap, space limits…or how to cram 6 people and a dog into 100 square feet - April 8, 2008 -
After dropping anchor and checking out our surroundings, I went below and organized the mess that was the cabin.
Last summer we went from living in a 2100sq ft house to a 300sq ft 5th wheel. It was really interesting to see that how one felt about the confines of space was relative to the amount of crap we had. At the house, there was SO MUCH STUFF! In the 5′er, the kids were each allowed one small basket to fill with whatever toys they desired. They each had a single drawer for their clothing, and I made shelves at the end of each of the 4 bunks for them to fill with some books. And that was it. Mom and Dad toys (surf boards etc) were stored under the trailer, and decorations inside were kept to the bare minimum.
It got a bit cramped at times…especially when too much sugar was involved….but all in all it was surprising to realize how little space one needs to be fulfilled and content.
Now imagine reducing the 300sq ft to around 100sq ft. 100 sq ft filled with 6 bodies, clothing for them, bedding, and food. And a dog. A dog who is shedding. Alot.
Each child was allowed to bring a small grocery bag filled with toys. Mia had her little backpack. I had a duffel bag filled with clothes for myself and Mia, and Bill had one for himself and 2 of the boys. Cory had his own backpack. The V-berth looked something like this:
Yeah. Not too bad if no one had to actually sleep in there. Ahem.
I stashed, folded, straightened and primped inside until all was pretty neat and tidy…..
WhatEVAH!
One thing that Captain Bill is pretty anal about is stuff on the cabin floor. If shoes or toys are left there, there shall be hell to pay. There is nothing like having a sailing emergency, and while lurching across the cabin, stepping on a really cool Bionicle or Barbie. He especially cannot STAND shoes