One Day Pity Party

May 21 – 25, 2012

May 21
Even when you are doing what you love – not every day is perfect or for that matter good!  Monday the 21^st was not a good day.  Brian had to spend another $1000 on boat parts.  The Boxster dumped all of its antifreeze on the pavement.  I found a lump that needed to be inspected by a gynecologist.  We’re still waiting for Brian’s biopsy to come back.  The upholstery doesn’t seem to be getting any closer to completion.  Are we ever going to leave Stuart???  Hottie Scotty is the only bright spot.  (For so many reasons!)  Hopefully, when these things are completed we’ll just have routine maintenance for a while.  Anyway, as much as we want to see our kids in Minnesota there are too many loose ends to fly off tomorrow.

May 22

In the month that we’ve been in Stuart, Brian and I have needed three specialists for health issues.  Finding doctors when you are passing through a community is difficult.  Especially, when you want to see them quickly.  We have been lucky to get help on all three counts.  We know that Brian’s skin cancer is basal cell.  That’s good.  The issue is how deep did it grow and will he need additional surgery and a skin graft?  I had an abscess that had to be lanced and cleaned out.  OUCH!  No pictures on that one…..  And, other than a stiff neck and a few tender spots I’ve healed from my fall.   

Found a caring specialist for the Boxster.  She is purring again.
 

May 24
Guy and Gary came by today and assured us that the salon cushions will be completed by the end of next week.  Good enough.  The rest will be picked up next fall.

Snacks, parts, tools and guys. 
Everyone takes a quick break to discuss
what's done and what is next on the list. 

May 25

So, while none of the issues were major – pile all of them on me in one day and then cancel the trip to see my kids – Boo Hoo.  I’m having a little pity party.  A friend on Facebook proclaims “Anxiety Girl!  Able to jump to the worst conclusion in a single bound.”  I may have perfected that jump.  As I write this, four days after my breakdown, almost everything is resolved.  Will I ever learn???

Gotta smile – we’re lovin the ride!                    

One More Reason To Be Thankful

May 17 - 19, 2012

May 17th
I am so thankful that Brian can repair almost everything on the boat.  It's hard enough to wait for parts to be delivered, but when you also have to wait for people to do the work, then the time and costs are multiplied expediently. We allowed a month in Stuart to get the upholstery done and while here we stumbled on Scotty.  Scotty is a young (really hunky cute) man that used to commission boats for Krogen. He is now an independent contractor that can fix anything on a Krogen -- best of all, the things that Brian doesn't know how to do or doesn't want to do.  He is going to add a larger alternator, service the water maker, change out the septic system hoses, put a new starter on one of the air conditioners and replace a stabilizer piston.  Only problem -- he has been in Baltimore for 10 days.  Expected back soon.....

Gary and Guy the upholsterers.  They are still
working hard to get everything done.   

For the last week Gary, the upholsterer, has been in and out of the hospital.  He collapsed at the grocery.  A series of tests indicated that he might need open heart surgery.  Turns out -- they can't do surgery; the veins are too small.  He will be put in a pressurized suit for an hour a day for 30 days to squeeze the blockage through the veins.  So, understandably, our upholstery work is on hold.  He is going to try and finish the salon while we are here.  Then, in the Fall when we come back, the pilot house will be completed.  June 1st is the start of hurricane season and we should be out of Florida by then if nothing else happens!

May 19th
Well, something else did happen.  Brian had a few spots on his skin that needed to be checked by a dermatologist.  The doctor burned off five squamous cell carcinomas.  The sixth one had to be scraped and sent in for a biopsy.  It takes ten days to get the results.  If there are clear margins, we are on our way.  If not, they schedule surgery.  The biopsy came from the back of his ear.  Since there is little skin there, they would have to do a skin graft.  Boy, oh boy!!!!

Hottie Scotty confers with Brian about which jobs
to take on first.
At the Krogen breakfast, the wives said they try to
think of jobs for Scotty to do on their boats.
By the way, he is a very nice person, too.

The good news is -- Scotty has returned to Stuart and is clicking off the tasks on our list.  

The other good news -- we are going to try to go to Minnesota on Tuesday for a few days to see Steve and family.

Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!       

Wow, One Year!

May 10, 2012

No one has gone overboard!

Today is the one year anniversary of our moving onto the boat.  Like anniversaries for most monumental things, it doesn't seem possible that its been 12 months and on the other hand it seems like years ago that we broke our ties with land.  To all of the naysayers that thought we'd never last in this small space, I have to say that we still love it and each other!  By ourselves or with company -- we are happy here....really happy. 

The highlights of the year are many. Challenging ourselves physically and mentally is something I hadn't really thought about when we left Minnesota.  But, that is a daily occurrence.  Exploring new places and meeting new people was one thing that we were looking forward to -- and, we still do.  I don't think we knew that we would appreciate seeing and hearing from old friends and family as much as we do.  Calls and emails to update us on your lives or just to say 'Hi' is a highlight every time they arrive.   Living with less and continuing to minimize has been the most liberating surprise.  Start getting rid of your surplus today!  You'll thank me when you move. 
 
So, it's been a year and our adventures are just beginning.  While in Stuart, we have breakfast on Thursday mornings with the other Krogen owners in the area.  They have traveled every place that we hope to go, so they are a wealth of information.  One couple is selling their 39 Krogen and moving into a motor home to explore from a different vantage point.  They gave us all of their charts and books -- from Maine to the Virgin Islands.  Now, if we can just finish things here in Stuart and get on our way!  So much to see and so little time.....

Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!

Road Trip

May 4 - 6, 2011

May 4th

Since we are going to be in Stuart for a month, we decided to pick up the Boxster in Longboat.  We rented a car and took off across the state on the back roads.  About five minutes underway and a bobcat ran across the road.  We had to slam on the breaks to keep from hitting him.  It all happened so fast I didn't get a picture -- darn it!  Ok, this may be an interesting drive.  The road is two lanes with trees making a beautiful canopy overhead.  On each side is extreme vegetation growth (and, probably, alligators and pythons). 


When it does open up there are cattle grazing, sod farms or citrus groves.  This is the first time we have seen groves with young trees planted on the perimeter.   

The most common critters along the road were black vultures. They were sitting on every pole, dead tree and post just waiting for something to drop in its tracks.             

Once we picked up our car we had lunch in St Armands at our favorite restaurant, Tommy Bahamas.  When lunch was completed, the manager stopped to ask us how we liked our meal.  I told him,"if I was on death row and it was time to choose my last meal, this is what it would be -- their fish tacos".   





Driving back to Stuart, we came across a controlled burn along the road. 




May 5th


Hope you had a good view of the super moon.  I never heard it called that in previous years, but it definitely lived up to it's billing.  This is the evening when the moon is closest to the earth. 




May 6th

Ingred and Ron are in the slip next to us.  They are an interesting couple.  Ingred had a business refinishing the teak on yachts.  She was so good that the Rothchilds brought their boats to her to have work done.  She and Ron recently sold their sail boat and are refurbishing a fishing boat.  They have done an amazing job taking a boat that was in horrible condition (mold infested, filthy, almost everything needed work) and turning it into a very nice one.  Ron told us today that one of Ingrid's other accomplishments was playing a piano solo with the San Francisco symphony when she was 16.  You never know who a person is until you take a the time to sit down and talk with them.  Most everyone has a story -- the fun is discovering that story. 

Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!

Yea, No Permanent Damage!

May 2, 2012

For the last two nights I haven't been able to sleep and have had headaches behind my forehead where I landed face first on the hardwood floor.  We decided that I should see a doctor.  Brian got the name of a clinic and a neighbor loaned us his car.   After a quick physical, I was sent to have a CT Scan of my skull and brain.  I know I have said it before, but I'll say it again -- I am so lucky!  The results came back with only a broken nose. The skull and brain are perfect -- OK, 'no damage' might be a better analysis. My nose isn't even displaced, so nothing needs to be done to it.  Now it is just a waiting game for my normal beige color to return.
 

Sunset Bay Marina office and ship store.

Stuart is the headquarters for Kadey Krogen Yachts so there are more Krogens here than most of the places we travel. And, a majority of them are staying at Sunset Bay Marina, where we are. We have enjoyed meeting lots of the other owners at impromptu get togethers in the evening and even for breakfast.  

Brian just left on his bike headed for Budget Car Rental.  We are going to drive back to Longboat Key tomorrow to pick up the Boxster.  It will be good to have a car here, since we are staying in Stuart for the month.  The next problem will be where to store the car when we leave.  Something will work out -- It always does.   

Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!
   

OMG -- Did I Really Do That?

May 1, 2012

Good news -- my eye is no longer swollen closed
I can turn my head and the bruises are
beginning to fade!

In my last post, I mentioned that I fell from the pilot house down two flights of stairs into the bed/bath level and landed on my forehead.  More bruises keep appearing and the others are changing colors.  It is pretty ugly, but I am thanking God every day that I didn't break my neck or some other bones.  Since, we are now in a new marina and meeting lots of people it is a great conversation starter.  And, everyone knows someone that did a similar fall with horrific results:  comas, serious brain damage, in therapy for years learning to walk and feed themselves again.  The really stupid thing is -- it was all my fault.  I had my iPad, camera, phone and Coke in my hands.  I broke one of the major rules --  always hold on when going up and down the stairs.  Well, hopefully it is a lesson learned.  I don't want to tempt fate and do it again.  

We made it to Stuart, FL yesterday around noon.  We are at Sunset Bay Marina with lots of Krogens.  A Whaleback (same hull, but different style above the water line) is right across the dock from us.  Teresa and Steve greeted us as we arrived and are coming over for a glass of wine tonight.  We'll enjoy trading stories with them.  

We met the upholsterers this morning and saw the Ultra Leather that we ordered.  It is beautiful!  Can't wait to see it all completed.  

Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!