It's Been Awhile

Hi there. Sorry I've not written. I have had a multiude of problems with electronics lately.








In the last couple weeks, we have prepped the mast and boat for us to step the mast up. We painted her and bought her new wire and built new tangs. We re-riveted the halyard track to the mast. We finally got all the huge bolts we needed to bolt the chainplates to the bulkheads Brett built. Everything is ready and we are hoping to raise it on Wednesday!

Last week, we drove to Kemah, TX by way of Galveston Island. We spent the night at Galveston Island State Park. We ended up in 1 of 2 beachside sites and it was the same site # as we have at Serendipity! LOL

We spent the day driving around Galveston and hitting the Starbucks. Then we came back to the park and got our swimsuits on and I waded into the surf for the first time! It was muddy and WARM. I was nervous because I kept picturing all those darned shows with the shark attacks in this kind of water! LOL

As we are wading, we see 3 huge silver fish jump out of the water in the surf right by us. I decided that they were jumping out of the water for a reason and headed back to the beach. Brett stayed in longer until he saw a jellyfish. We learned later that it was Portugese Man O War jellyfish.

The next day we drove to Kemah for boat supplies (after stopping at Starbucks). We stopped at West Marine and got everything on Russell's list (a job that Brett is doing) and then went to go play at the Boat Resale Shop. Wow, what a COOL place! We found a lot that we could use for cheap cheap cheap. Especially a bbq grill, stove and refrigeration.

We then drove toward League City, TX down the road, looking for a bead shop I was told about. We passed by where it should have been 2 times and then headed back toward Kemah. We ended up a little lost and turned around. After driving about 20 minutes, we ended up back at the place where the bead shop was supposed to be! This was in the camper and it was very hot, mind you.

So we continued West toward I-45 and realized the blocks started over. We had not gone far enough to hit the bead shop and it showed up shortly on our left. We stopped and I picked up a couple things and then we headed home. It was a fun trip.

Yesterday, I put a second coat of varnish on one side of the rub-rails. The first coat was already wearing off from the UV rays. I am doing the other side today.

Brett has also been working on the vee-berth. He's bought some fir plywood (a rare commodity around here) and has built the tops of it. We decided to use fir since we couldn't find 3/8 Birch and it was going to be covered anyway. We are painting the fir white.

The boat is slowly but surely coming along.




I have been looking at fabric and stains for weeks now. I got some samples of ultrasuede after hearing from another boat owner that its the only way to go. brett and i have been looking at microfibers for awhile so it was good to know which one to get. ultrasuede is the best you can buy but there is a reason. its non-woven so there is nothing to stretch or get Benny's claws stuck into. My original color scheme was to be a plum like the outside canvas. but I got some samples of ultrasuede and have altered my design. it might even be "inca gold" (terra cotta) to match benny with burgundy, sage and possible plum colors. you wouldn't think it would look good but my samples look good together and they look great with the wicker we're using for the cabinets. I attached a picture of them. I ordered more sample of purple fabrics for a better idea. I think the multicolor will be great! i can't believe i am contemplating terra cotta for the main cushions but it will look good, be bright and blend right in with Benny' hair. Brett liked it too. I think I am definitely going to try and encorporate plum in there somewhere though.

Both cameras and the computers and my external hard drive have all hit the road. This last computer I got from Eddie froze up and quit working altogether. I don't know if it ended up with a virus or it had some windows error. I took my losses and recovered it completely. I lost some pictures and documents but it is working much better now... When my cameras both crashed, I almost had a heart attack. I just got my website back online and the day I did, the camera quit working... Then, yesterday, I dropped the cell phone off the bed and it landed in a pan full of water and sat there while I had to get down. luckily, the only thing affected was my camera. although, i used it all the time so i am bummed. but the phone still works.

I have decided to head back to Oregon at the end of the month for 2 months. We decided it would be good for me to get away and see the family and work back at OML for a couple months. I leave in 2 weeks. I am very excited but hate to leave Brett, the animals and the boat here for so long.. But he feels that I have been unhappy lately (I have). He thinks that when I am gone, he can get a lot done on the boat, too, because he isn't worrying about me.

I am taking the train back. It will be pretty along the way. I hope to get a lot of beading and reading done during my trip. I have a few transfers which make me nervous but I am sure it will be great. I am going to bring my electronics to Oregon and see if I can get them fixed (no where around here to do that). I am also going to get some medical check ups as long as I am in Oregon that I wanted to get done. I am also hoping to go see my dad, part of the reason I am going home. He is not doing well at all, and its been weighing on me that I am down here. This trip was needed and I am so glad Brett pushed me to do it. The park was upset because I was the only one in July that would be here... I felt absolutely terrible about it... miserable... I almost bailed on this idea but Brett convinced me that I need to do it for me. Actually, a lot of people said that I should do what I need to do for me. But I can't stand upsetting people and I upset them...

I am excited to see the family again. I am anticipating the many tasks I want to get done whil in Oregon. I have posted new pictures of our Galvestson Island trip. I'll post pictures of the mast as soon as I can.