Well, it looks like we are in for winter now, our 75 degree days are over and now I will be facing falling temperatures, a cat who won't even poke her head outside and a grumpy captain. Oh Boy!
We just got water back today - the powers that be turned it off these last few days and replaced all the pipes under our dock. So today we did all those things we do when we know water is about to be turned off indefinitely, we took showers, defrosted the freezer (we spray hot water in it) filled the water tank and all the extra bottles we use for small things. All the plants are watered and we are set. The forecast is for at least 5 days in the 20's at night. We are hoping this is not going to be the beginning of another long seige like last year. Some weather guru on the nightly news said the East was in for a colder than normal winter, now that it was really arriving. Great cheers from you know who.
Out house person was out of the office today in Richmond, so no news on that front. Nothing else exciting happening here.
I am pleased to know I am only 3 degrees removed from Abe Lincoln. I knew I was glad Mike was my brother!
Tomorrow, I sew up bear! I should have pictures by this weekend.
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Monday, January 10, 2005
Just errands
Today has been eventful, but not exciting. The captain and I (mostly him with me listening in the wings) managed to complete a financial transaction in the event that the house contract moves along; we will be ready with funds. Of course this only took him about 3 sets of phone calls, and as usual, every one of the people he spoke to offered different instructions! How does any business work when it's employee's are so inexperienced (note I didn't say stupid). Only a supervisor can give the right answers .... and even then when he got to the bank they said, “we have never heard of that kind of form” .... which is what the other person said they had to have! SO then another phone call .... makes you wonder how anything gets done.
While he was moving money around I was relegated to the grocery store. Now cold weather is coming, so we were trying to stock up on soda for him, which was on sale. Of course there was a 4 liter limit. So, I made three trips in and out of the store, with my four bottles .... and various other items I picked up on each trip. Then he made a final 4th trip, so we came up with 16 bottles, enough to last a couple weeks. We can be snowed in now .... hopeful I have not awakened the god of the arctic to come dump on us by saying that.
Well since I wrote the paragraph above the evening news came on and I just saw that in the first ten days of January our temperature average has been 65 degrees .... 17 above average. Also this Saturday and Sunday our lows are supposed to be around 22, a high on Sunday of 36. BRRRRR.
We also changed out a filter for the water purifier, pretty exciting stuff there!
Silly enjoyed a few hours in the sun, out on her throne. She saw no reason to get involved with anything except the unpacking of groceries and rewrapping meat. Quality control expert that she is, she did say everything looked good and if we wanted to cook it all up tonight she’s be around to taste test.
I got some knitting done, and things are progressing on the bear.
We heard back from the house people and they expect to have blueprints of the new plan this week. We found out it is only 1 floor with 3 bedrooms, so probably not what we hoped. We thought it would still have an upstairs bonus room which Eric could use for the train set up. Since we do want a dedicated guest room, this would not work out, we'd be one room short with only 3, either no sewing/craft room, or no train room.
Looks like we are not going to go to Baltimore, but then that could change too! Tomorrow is supposed to be nearly 70!
While he was moving money around I was relegated to the grocery store. Now cold weather is coming, so we were trying to stock up on soda for him, which was on sale. Of course there was a 4 liter limit. So, I made three trips in and out of the store, with my four bottles .... and various other items I picked up on each trip. Then he made a final 4th trip, so we came up with 16 bottles, enough to last a couple weeks. We can be snowed in now .... hopeful I have not awakened the god of the arctic to come dump on us by saying that.
Well since I wrote the paragraph above the evening news came on and I just saw that in the first ten days of January our temperature average has been 65 degrees .... 17 above average. Also this Saturday and Sunday our lows are supposed to be around 22, a high on Sunday of 36. BRRRRR.
We also changed out a filter for the water purifier, pretty exciting stuff there!
Silly enjoyed a few hours in the sun, out on her throne. She saw no reason to get involved with anything except the unpacking of groceries and rewrapping meat. Quality control expert that she is, she did say everything looked good and if we wanted to cook it all up tonight she’s be around to taste test.
I got some knitting done, and things are progressing on the bear.
We heard back from the house people and they expect to have blueprints of the new plan this week. We found out it is only 1 floor with 3 bedrooms, so probably not what we hoped. We thought it would still have an upstairs bonus room which Eric could use for the train set up. Since we do want a dedicated guest room, this would not work out, we'd be one room short with only 3, either no sewing/craft room, or no train room.
Looks like we are not going to go to Baltimore, but then that could change too! Tomorrow is supposed to be nearly 70!
Sunday, January 09, 2005
Forecast - things to change
Weather turned cold today, a taste of things to come! According to the weathermen we'll be warm, near 70 in the middle of the week, and then we are going back to winter, maybe for a long stretch. Looks like water will be turned off again, so we will need to get our tanks full again and defrost the freezer before we are without the water to do that easily.
I visited Wal-Mart today, in and out as fast as I could. I was in search of yarn to make a gift for SKyler’s birthday. Visit the knitting blog for more information about the project for her. There was only one basketful of left over Christmas junk, no better word for it than junk. I noticed all our attention is now supposed to be focused on Valentine’s Day. I hate being told what holiday I am supposed to be in the mood for, weeks and weeks early!
Nothing major on the agenda for this week. I hope to sit down and watch the extended version of The Return of the King. I watched the second disc of special features yesterday afternoon. I am always amazed at the scope of a movie of that magnitude. Such talented people, and so many of them, all doing such specialized things.
Well, hopefully all of you will have a good week. Mike, I think you are surpassing me on understanding this blog stuff. Unfortunately I don’t have enough time to do all I want. You may be the same way. By the way, your cave looks good! Very nice. I’ll come sit and be quiet in there!
Just heard from the captain he is comtemplating going to Baltimore to visit his mom. So, road trip may be in the works! More later!
I visited Wal-Mart today, in and out as fast as I could. I was in search of yarn to make a gift for SKyler’s birthday. Visit the knitting blog for more information about the project for her. There was only one basketful of left over Christmas junk, no better word for it than junk. I noticed all our attention is now supposed to be focused on Valentine’s Day. I hate being told what holiday I am supposed to be in the mood for, weeks and weeks early!
Nothing major on the agenda for this week. I hope to sit down and watch the extended version of The Return of the King. I watched the second disc of special features yesterday afternoon. I am always amazed at the scope of a movie of that magnitude. Such talented people, and so many of them, all doing such specialized things.
Well, hopefully all of you will have a good week. Mike, I think you are surpassing me on understanding this blog stuff. Unfortunately I don’t have enough time to do all I want. You may be the same way. By the way, your cave looks good! Very nice. I’ll come sit and be quiet in there!
Just heard from the captain he is comtemplating going to Baltimore to visit his mom. So, road trip may be in the works! More later!
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Eye see
I got contact lenses when I was home in November and have worn than without any problems. I love being able to pick up a book and read to the grand-babies without having to hunt for my glasses.
One eye of the prescription is a bifocal, the other not. Of course, the bifocal contact costs twice what the other does. The day before Christmas Eve I had my contacts in after not wearing them for a few days. As the day went on, it seems like I was seeing less and less, but I attributed it to not having worn them for a few days and having worn my old glasses during that time. Well, finally came time to take them out for the night, and what to my wondering eye, no contact in the bifocal eye. No wonder I could not read! So, since this was also the first day I had in a new contact I was a bit put out ($$$ down the tube) , but the next day I put in a new one. Now I'm one short in my six month supply.
Yesterday, I went to the library and had problems seeing again; I thought it was their new monitors, and came back to office and checked in the mirror - and oh oh, no contact. Return to boat and put in a new one - now I am down two! ($$$$$$ Twice amount of money down the tube).
To make this short, I called my doctor and they are going to replace the two I lost, I think at no charge, due to Blink-Out! Well, that's a new one on me. I told her it might be operator error, but she said it could just as easily be defective lenses. Since I had gone so long without problems I hope it is the latter.
Christmas came day before yesterday - an Amazon order! I received Shrek 2, and The collector edition of Lord of the Rings, Return of the King. I aLso received a knitting pattern book and the newest Atkins book published, Essential to Kick Start your Atkins.
We watched Shrek 2 two nights ago and laughed and laughed, especially at Puss-In-Boots, who resembles our Silly kitty in manners to a T. One moment an innocent feline with big eyes, and the next second attacking. Of course she only does this to Eric, and I think it is all a game!
No more new news -
One eye of the prescription is a bifocal, the other not. Of course, the bifocal contact costs twice what the other does. The day before Christmas Eve I had my contacts in after not wearing them for a few days. As the day went on, it seems like I was seeing less and less, but I attributed it to not having worn them for a few days and having worn my old glasses during that time. Well, finally came time to take them out for the night, and what to my wondering eye, no contact in the bifocal eye. No wonder I could not read! So, since this was also the first day I had in a new contact I was a bit put out ($$$ down the tube) , but the next day I put in a new one. Now I'm one short in my six month supply.
Yesterday, I went to the library and had problems seeing again; I thought it was their new monitors, and came back to office and checked in the mirror - and oh oh, no contact. Return to boat and put in a new one - now I am down two! ($$$$$$ Twice amount of money down the tube).
To make this short, I called my doctor and they are going to replace the two I lost, I think at no charge, due to Blink-Out! Well, that's a new one on me. I told her it might be operator error, but she said it could just as easily be defective lenses. Since I had gone so long without problems I hope it is the latter.
Christmas came day before yesterday - an Amazon order! I received Shrek 2, and The collector edition of Lord of the Rings, Return of the King. I aLso received a knitting pattern book and the newest Atkins book published, Essential to Kick Start your Atkins.
We watched Shrek 2 two nights ago and laughed and laughed, especially at Puss-In-Boots, who resembles our Silly kitty in manners to a T. One moment an innocent feline with big eyes, and the next second attacking. Of course she only does this to Eric, and I think it is all a game!
No more new news -
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
I'm getting too old for this!
Since the new year, for some strange reason, I have been awake for extended hours of the night. It’s after midnight now, and the previous two nights, I finally made myself go to bed at 2am. What is even more remarkable is that I have not had to take a nap the following day either. This is from someone who is usually asleep 5 minutes after they hit the pillow at 10pm. I guess I should be glad, I’ve read, knitted, surfed the web, petted the cat and in general, stayed out of trouble. My web surfing is limited by the phone battery, and just to show how bad my insomnia is, last night I even recharged the battery and had a second go around surfing!
I think I have to partially blame this on the blog(s). Mike and I keep trying to find things to add to our Blog, and so, once one of us finds something new, the other has to try it and look for something else the other hasn’t seen. I guess it is all in a spirit of making the blog interesting. Last night I even decided I would split my Blog, so now if you look atFloats, Knits and Purls you will see that all my knitting stuff (and quilting) is going to be there. There is also a link to it in the Knitting Links side bar of my main blog. I have to blame Anne for that idea though, as she separated her blog into two first. Anyhow, I am blog happy now .... If only the phone was charged up I could be surfing for more neat things!
Mike, I noticed tonight at theAll Consuming site, one of the most popular books being talked about is about blogs. I can’t get back online right now, but I may check it out and see if the library happens to have it. I did sign up on this site, but wasn’t able to get the code to do anything, but I think that is due to me not doing something in the right order. The phone started beeping at me and I had to abandon that midair. Anyhow, if you sign up, we can list each other as friends and somehow be notified when our lists change. Yada Yada Yada.
Eric is concerned that this whole blog thing is a way for the world to spy on us. I guess I am too trusting, and he is too private and probably right in his concern. He will no longer go to Yahoo because of the spy stuff they are doing – tracking your Internet use. They can see everything you have done on your browser. His thought is to get another browser to use only with Yahoo, maybe Mozilla.
So, blog aside, today was beautiful and almost 70 degrees. We are about 20 degrees higher than normal, which is a good thing for DH (dear Husband) as you all know how much he hates the cold.
Ops, definitely getting late, the cat has just come out of the bedroom for her after catnap (after midnight) snack and will be meowing at me that it is time to go to bed! She likes to have all (both) her humans in one spot where she can keep an eye on us. Since Eric has been asleep for hours now she is divided!
I think I have to partially blame this on the blog(s). Mike and I keep trying to find things to add to our Blog, and so, once one of us finds something new, the other has to try it and look for something else the other hasn’t seen. I guess it is all in a spirit of making the blog interesting. Last night I even decided I would split my Blog, so now if you look at
Mike, I noticed tonight at the
Eric is concerned that this whole blog thing is a way for the world to spy on us. I guess I am too trusting, and he is too private and probably right in his concern. He will no longer go to Yahoo because of the spy stuff they are doing – tracking your Internet use. They can see everything you have done on your browser. His thought is to get another browser to use only with Yahoo, maybe Mozilla.
So, blog aside, today was beautiful and almost 70 degrees. We are about 20 degrees higher than normal, which is a good thing for DH (dear Husband) as you all know how much he hates the cold.
Ops, definitely getting late, the cat has just come out of the bedroom for her after catnap (after midnight) snack and will be meowing at me that it is time to go to bed! She likes to have all (both) her humans in one spot where she can keep an eye on us. Since Eric has been asleep for hours now she is divided!
Sunday, January 02, 2005
Tweaking the blog
I spent the best part of this morning working on the blog again, hopefully making the text more Parent friendly, that is, larger and darker. So anyone out there who has a comment, just check down the side bar and look for “Siily Says” and email me with the link there – and tell me what you think.
This HTML is really interesting. I have found a new page I think I like :Dave Raggett's Introduction to CSS.It seems pretty straight forward to me and the color selector section was great for making the text darker. I can see this blog thing is a work in progress. And as long as my brother and I both strive to outdo each other, new things should keep cropping up! It’s also been great for us keeping in touch. What do you think those of you who read it?
Well, It's way past time to get out of the PJ’s and the phone battery should be about maxed out .... More later.
Jo
This HTML is really interesting. I have found a new page I think I like :Dave Raggett's Introduction to CSS.It seems pretty straight forward to me and the color selector section was great for making the text darker. I can see this blog thing is a work in progress. And as long as my brother and I both strive to outdo each other, new things should keep cropping up! It’s also been great for us keeping in touch. What do you think those of you who read it?
Well, It's way past time to get out of the PJ’s and the phone battery should be about maxed out .... More later.
Jo
Saturday, January 01, 2005
Flickr Pictures are Finished
I did finish up the pictures and they have been posted to Flickr, all you need to do is click on the Flickr Box in the sidebar.
2005 - a New Year begins!
Today dawned with brilliant sunlight and only a few clouds; if that is any indicator or omen for the future year I am happy. It is warm, well above 60 and a coat is not even needed. After the frigid days before Christmas this is a welcomed and appreciated gift! Even the water has been turned back on, but of course, only our dock is without, as some of our dock pipes had major leaks. However, if we do have to haul water, we won’t have to go all the way to shore, only to the next dock.
I have a long list of resolutions going in my mind, but no, don’t worry I am not going to share them! Suffice to say, I have meager success most years with keeping my resolutions, so I won’t set myself up to see them in black and white a few months from now and say ahhhh – I was going to do that wasn’t I?
The Best of 2004 pictures should be in Flickr before the end of the day, and if I don’t run out of time this afternoon (the marina office closes early) I hope to get them labeled and ready for everyone to see. Once they are up and ready, I will post again and let everyone know. Picking the ones I thought marked highlights of the year gave me a good chance to look at all the pictures again and marvel at how much the grandkids have changed! The three quilts I made were fun and much appreciated by the grandkids. I didn’t include pictures of any knitting projects, but I did accomplish quite a few finished projects on that front too. I looked at my book list and I read 49 books, down some from previous years. That is probably because I now knit some of the time I used to read. Too bad I can’t do both (like some people do) at the same time.
We spoke with house people again this week, and they indicate that MAYBE, just maybe they might be able to tell us something next Wednesday. I am not holding my breath, but if they don’t move along soon, we will move along somewhere else! I understand they had had vacation time too, and closing for homes that were finished and ready, but come on ..... It’s not like we are the only folks standing in line waiting. Maybe that’s the problem, they have more than enough folks waiting so they are in no hurry.
Next weekend is the train show in Virginia Beach. Eric and I are looking forward to going to see layouts. Hopefully we won’t have to buy anything .... But you know how that is. He is looking forward to setting up his trains in a new house and I can’t blame him.
Well enough chatter for today ...
Happy New Year
I have a long list of resolutions going in my mind, but no, don’t worry I am not going to share them! Suffice to say, I have meager success most years with keeping my resolutions, so I won’t set myself up to see them in black and white a few months from now and say ahhhh – I was going to do that wasn’t I?
The Best of 2004 pictures should be in Flickr before the end of the day, and if I don’t run out of time this afternoon (the marina office closes early) I hope to get them labeled and ready for everyone to see. Once they are up and ready, I will post again and let everyone know. Picking the ones I thought marked highlights of the year gave me a good chance to look at all the pictures again and marvel at how much the grandkids have changed! The three quilts I made were fun and much appreciated by the grandkids. I didn’t include pictures of any knitting projects, but I did accomplish quite a few finished projects on that front too. I looked at my book list and I read 49 books, down some from previous years. That is probably because I now knit some of the time I used to read. Too bad I can’t do both (like some people do) at the same time.
We spoke with house people again this week, and they indicate that MAYBE, just maybe they might be able to tell us something next Wednesday. I am not holding my breath, but if they don’t move along soon, we will move along somewhere else! I understand they had had vacation time too, and closing for homes that were finished and ready, but come on ..... It’s not like we are the only folks standing in line waiting. Maybe that’s the problem, they have more than enough folks waiting so they are in no hurry.
Next weekend is the train show in Virginia Beach. Eric and I are looking forward to going to see layouts. Hopefully we won’t have to buy anything .... But you know how that is. He is looking forward to setting up his trains in a new house and I can’t blame him.
Well enough chatter for today ...
Happy New Year
New Years Eve
The cat just tried to drag a piece of our New Years Eve dinner turkey onto the floor while Eric and I were distracted reading email. Sneaky little kitten that she is, she picked a piece that was cut and cooling, and she apparently thought we would not miss it, or hear her smacking her little cat lips! Foiled in the act! One of the benefits of living in a small space, everyone can see what everyone else is up to all the time. Apparently she forgot.
I spent part of the afternoon on the Internet trying to understand more about HTML at this website http://lisaexplains.com. I thought I might be able to learn a thing or two since it seems even kids can learn HTML and that is who this sight is designed for. Obviously kids are smarter at all this than I am. Anyhow, this is a trial to see if there is a link showing up in this message or not.
My plan for the next day or two is to show 2004 in pictures, so I’ll be going though my photos for the year and picking out the top 2 or 3 for each month! Look for them soon in my Flickr photo stream.
Hope your evening is good! Happy New Year!
I spent part of the afternoon on the Internet trying to understand more about HTML at this website http://lisaexplains.com. I thought I might be able to learn a thing or two since it seems even kids can learn HTML and that is who this sight is designed for. Obviously kids are smarter at all this than I am. Anyhow, this is a trial to see if there is a link showing up in this message or not.
My plan for the next day or two is to show 2004 in pictures, so I’ll be going though my photos for the year and picking out the top 2 or 3 for each month! Look for them soon in my Flickr photo stream.
Hope your evening is good! Happy New Year!
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Vera, Renata and Mariana
This is a picture of my wonderful sister in Brazil, Vera Alice (in the center) and two of her daughters, Renata and Mariana. As you may know, I lived with Vera, her brothers Edu and Armandinho, and my wonderful parents Alice and Armando Leone in 1966. It was a year I have never forgotten. Thanks to email we are now able to keep in touch better than before - her daughters are fluent in English, which is good because my Portuguese is getting pretty rusty!
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
A quick note
Hi everyone - worked on the photo part of my Blog today. If you look on the side of the blog you will see a square showing photos that change. F you click on that image you will be taken to another website where my pictures are being stored. Look carefully above the large picture and you will see a word that says photo stream .... Click on that and you should be able to see all the pictures.
The thaw that didn't!
In spite of lots of sun today, and a good bit of wind we still have lots of snow on the ground. The docks have footprints, but no one made any attempt to shovel a path. We didn’t get much above freezing during the day and tonight's low is going to be 20. We spent the morning hearing hunks of ice fall from the mast, sails and rigging lines – and there is still plenty hanging up there to come down yet. The deck is at least mostly dry and our finger pier is dry as Eric swept it off. Although the city of Hampton has done a superb job of cleaning the main streets the neighborhood is still pretty slushy and icy.
We made these observations when we went out to the grocery store again for rolls. Bread and milk are still in short supply there. We heard on the news this evening that there were 586 car accidents between yesterday when the snow started and noon today! I can only imagine what it will be like tomorrow when everything that melted today freezes into a slick sheet. Potentially tomorrow will be more dangerous for driving, many places closed today and tomorrow there will be more traffic as business open back up. At least the kids are all home!
The big event of the day, after the grocery store, was a boot shopping expedition for Eric at the Red Wing store. This might not sound too exciting, but to a man who prefers no shoes, boots are a big deal! He wore them in pilot training (30 years ago) – actually a habit he picked up from Ron. He really liked them then, and I convinced him he needed some new ones. He experienced the shock of the same thing I noticed, as you age your feet get bigger (oh joy). Anyhow we got him a nice pair and he is very pleased with how they look. We waterproofed them tonight – since the snow won’t be going away anytime soon. He choked when he heard the price, but hey – it has been 30 years, right? I told him they’ll last him forever, and he agreed. As land lubbers to be, he needed a nice looking pair of shoes in addition to his deck shoes. We are both happy with his choice.
In light of the boots, I am knitting faster. I have now turned the heels on both socks, and doing cuffs now. I start at the toes, my personal preference, as you can try them on for fit. Anyhow, I am working a couple inches a day on the socks, and will go until the yarn runs out. This is yarn I liberated from a thrift store wool sweater. I feel too thrifty!
The other good news, we are supposed to be in the 60’s by New Year’s Eve, with lows in the 40’s! I guess that means we will at least get water turned on again in a few days. Maybe another picture tomorrow.
Until later ...
We made these observations when we went out to the grocery store again for rolls. Bread and milk are still in short supply there. We heard on the news this evening that there were 586 car accidents between yesterday when the snow started and noon today! I can only imagine what it will be like tomorrow when everything that melted today freezes into a slick sheet. Potentially tomorrow will be more dangerous for driving, many places closed today and tomorrow there will be more traffic as business open back up. At least the kids are all home!
The big event of the day, after the grocery store, was a boot shopping expedition for Eric at the Red Wing store. This might not sound too exciting, but to a man who prefers no shoes, boots are a big deal! He wore them in pilot training (30 years ago) – actually a habit he picked up from Ron. He really liked them then, and I convinced him he needed some new ones. He experienced the shock of the same thing I noticed, as you age your feet get bigger (oh joy). Anyhow we got him a nice pair and he is very pleased with how they look. We waterproofed them tonight – since the snow won’t be going away anytime soon. He choked when he heard the price, but hey – it has been 30 years, right? I told him they’ll last him forever, and he agreed. As land lubbers to be, he needed a nice looking pair of shoes in addition to his deck shoes. We are both happy with his choice.
In light of the boots, I am knitting faster. I have now turned the heels on both socks, and doing cuffs now. I start at the toes, my personal preference, as you can try them on for fit. Anyhow, I am working a couple inches a day on the socks, and will go until the yarn runs out. This is yarn I liberated from a thrift store wool sweater. I feel too thrifty!
The other good news, we are supposed to be in the 60’s by New Year’s Eve, with lows in the 40’s! I guess that means we will at least get water turned on again in a few days. Maybe another picture tomorrow.
Until later ...
Sunday, December 26, 2004
The day after Christmas ....
Well it has been quite a weekend! We arrived in Richmond just before three and Zack met us in the driveway. He said, Nana, I’ve been waiting for you all day! How sweet was that! Maddie was all smiles (because she managed to pull one over the grown ups and skip a nap!) and Rebecca and Tom were all ready to begin the second round of gifts for the day. Eric and I both enjoyed watching the kids, and Becky and Tom open gifts .... And it seems like everyone was happy with their presents. Zach played Santa by the way, he recognizes his own name!
Tom made a super dinner, we had lasagna and sauce and salad. It was very very good! Both the kids were getting pretty tired by supper, but really did good for such a long day. After baths they tucked into bed without too much fuss and the adults watched a movie.
This morning we got up pretty early, and as Eric had seen the weather and they said it might snow, we decided to head home early. We left at 10 am. The first 45 minutes of the trip were uneventful, but the next 45 miles took nearly 3 1/2 hours. The snow was big and wet and juicy, and the closer we got to home, the more it was coming down. We say one car off the road, and I think that was the one accident that slowed traffic so much. The only service truck we saw on our side of the highway said Tidewater parking lot maintenance - !!! Maybe he was helping a friend.
We stopped at the grocery for bread and milk (almost gone) and we managed to get aboard without getting too wet, unpacked and then went out on the deck to clear paths and get buildup off the canvas roof that covers the cockpit. We had close to six inches here, by our estimates. I also made a snowman for Zachary and we took a picture for him. It could have been bigger believe me – the snow was perfect for rolling .... But I had almost forgotten how heavy wet snow was. We managed one about as tall as Zachary and called it quits. I couldn’t get his radish eyes and raisin mouth to stay on – but managed the carrot nose. Lucky I had some nice big knitting needles to hold the gloves! It was fun.
So now we are snug aboard, it is dark and the snow has stopped. It is supposed to warm up gradually, but then the weather man may be wrong – he had said 1-2 inches of snow for here!! We could be slick with ice, but hopefully everything will warm up nicely and our Christmas snow will just be a happy memory!
Tom made a super dinner, we had lasagna and sauce and salad. It was very very good! Both the kids were getting pretty tired by supper, but really did good for such a long day. After baths they tucked into bed without too much fuss and the adults watched a movie.
This morning we got up pretty early, and as Eric had seen the weather and they said it might snow, we decided to head home early. We left at 10 am. The first 45 minutes of the trip were uneventful, but the next 45 miles took nearly 3 1/2 hours. The snow was big and wet and juicy, and the closer we got to home, the more it was coming down. We say one car off the road, and I think that was the one accident that slowed traffic so much. The only service truck we saw on our side of the highway said Tidewater parking lot maintenance - !!! Maybe he was helping a friend.
We stopped at the grocery for bread and milk (almost gone) and we managed to get aboard without getting too wet, unpacked and then went out on the deck to clear paths and get buildup off the canvas roof that covers the cockpit. We had close to six inches here, by our estimates. I also made a snowman for Zachary and we took a picture for him. It could have been bigger believe me – the snow was perfect for rolling .... But I had almost forgotten how heavy wet snow was. We managed one about as tall as Zachary and called it quits. I couldn’t get his radish eyes and raisin mouth to stay on – but managed the carrot nose. Lucky I had some nice big knitting needles to hold the gloves! It was fun.
So now we are snug aboard, it is dark and the snow has stopped. It is supposed to warm up gradually, but then the weather man may be wrong – he had said 1-2 inches of snow for here!! We could be slick with ice, but hopefully everything will warm up nicely and our Christmas snow will just be a happy memory!
Snowman on the boat!
The Auana Ke Kai Christmas Snowman - we got 6 inches of nice wet snow the day after Christmas!
Friday, December 24, 2004
Christmas Eve and the stockings are hung!
It looks like Santa will need some radar to get here, we are very cloudy and generally a gray looking day. We watched Tim Allen and the Santa movie last night on TV, always cute to see stories about grown-up coming to “believe” again in Santa.
It got me thinking about Santa and days past. I think one of my first memories of Christmas is being at my grandma Walters house, asleep upstairs and hearing Christmas Carols being sung outside, and bells. I don’t know if it was friends of my aunts and uncles who were still teenagers, or just who it was, but I know I was pretty excited about hearing the sleigh bells. Christmas was always a huge affair at my grandma’s as there were so many cousins – 19 in all – we were a house full! Here’s their names (I cheated) - and just think, I think these 19 cousins have better than 41 kids, and now there are grandkids for them!!!
Darren, Denise, Doreen, Deanna (Armstrong – Mae and Gordon); Stephen, Phillip, Andy, Bill, Tim (Goold – Lucille and Dick ); Becky, Mark, Paul, Mary and David (Rowley – Peggy and Jay), Karen and Kevin (Walters – Ray and Jo); Cindy, (Jeffers, Delores and Roy) and Mike and I (Walters – Earl and Annabelle).
Seeing this list makes me think it is high time for the Walters to attempt a family reunion again. Nothing like a good idea for the new year! I may have to write to the aunts and uncles and us put some thought to that.
Well everyone, tomorrow we head for Richmond. Eric and I are excited to see the wonder of Christmas through the eyes of Maddie and Zack. I wish all of us could be together – maybe next year we will invite everyone to Virginia!
Merry Christmas and God Bless
It got me thinking about Santa and days past. I think one of my first memories of Christmas is being at my grandma Walters house, asleep upstairs and hearing Christmas Carols being sung outside, and bells. I don’t know if it was friends of my aunts and uncles who were still teenagers, or just who it was, but I know I was pretty excited about hearing the sleigh bells. Christmas was always a huge affair at my grandma’s as there were so many cousins – 19 in all – we were a house full! Here’s their names (I cheated) - and just think, I think these 19 cousins have better than 41 kids, and now there are grandkids for them!!!
Darren, Denise, Doreen, Deanna (Armstrong – Mae and Gordon); Stephen, Phillip, Andy, Bill, Tim (Goold – Lucille and Dick ); Becky, Mark, Paul, Mary and David (Rowley – Peggy and Jay), Karen and Kevin (Walters – Ray and Jo); Cindy, (Jeffers, Delores and Roy) and Mike and I (Walters – Earl and Annabelle).
Seeing this list makes me think it is high time for the Walters to attempt a family reunion again. Nothing like a good idea for the new year! I may have to write to the aunts and uncles and us put some thought to that.
Well everyone, tomorrow we head for Richmond. Eric and I are excited to see the wonder of Christmas through the eyes of Maddie and Zack. I wish all of us could be together – maybe next year we will invite everyone to Virginia!
Merry Christmas and God Bless
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Happy Birthday
Today is a special day for all of us – DGD Madeline is One today, and Sally, SIL, is 29! Hurray for the girls in the family! I always feel like people who have a birthday near Christmas are a bit cheated as far as gifts are concerned. I don’t know if that is true or not, what do you think Sally? Do you have any good ideas how to celebrate in a neat way?
Yoga was delightful last night, best of all was a gift of Chocolate – yummy chocolate. What more could you want?
Christmas music helped put Eric and I in the Christmas spirit today. Otherwise we had a warm day, but it was very windy. Not a pretty day at all. I am still trying to solve WUNWTAGC – even listening to most of our 270+ Christmas songs did not solve that puzzle. I am counting on Mike or Sally to solve this one – or maybe someone who listens to more radio than me ... Maybe Anne!
Anne, since you are on logger too – have you figured out a way to add links? Or is it dependent on the template you use? I notice some of the templates have them in the side panel, but mine doesn’t. If you add in that code into you template would it add links? (Of course that means I would have to figure out which code controlled that aspect of the page) LOL.
Tomorrow! Christmas Eve!
Yoga was delightful last night, best of all was a gift of Chocolate – yummy chocolate. What more could you want?
Christmas music helped put Eric and I in the Christmas spirit today. Otherwise we had a warm day, but it was very windy. Not a pretty day at all. I am still trying to solve WUNWTAGC – even listening to most of our 270+ Christmas songs did not solve that puzzle. I am counting on Mike or Sally to solve this one – or maybe someone who listens to more radio than me ... Maybe Anne!
Anne, since you are on logger too – have you figured out a way to add links? Or is it dependent on the template you use? I notice some of the templates have them in the side panel, but mine doesn’t. If you add in that code into you template would it add links? (Of course that means I would have to figure out which code controlled that aspect of the page) LOL.
Tomorrow! Christmas Eve!
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Wednesday
We are going for the extremes here – today it is mid 50 and tomorrow will be 60. Only two days away from the frigid weather of last weekend. The poor cat is so confused. She would poke her head outside and twitch this past Monday; today she is spread out in her “I’m warm” pose.
This warm up is deceiving though, the main heater gave a loud shutter and shake and gave up the ghost this morning. When the water temp. gets about 42 or so, it is all over as far as the heat exchanger is concerned. So, out come all the space heaters and we now play move the heaters depending on what time of the day it is and where we want heat! I actually think the small heaters make the boat more comfortable, but then what do I know?
I got up this morning and made a batch of trash (Chex mix) to include in the Christmas ditty bags I put together for my Yoga buddies. Nothing, extravagant, a candle, a bath scrubby, a CD of soft Christmas carols and trash.... How’s that for spreading Peace, Joy, Love and Light? That is our Yoga mantra at the end of each class, also fitting for Christmas I thought. We’ll meet at 5:30 and have a small get together before class.
Our marina manager gave us an early Christmas gift, a gift certificate for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. The one we wanted to take Mom and Dad to when they were here. You may remember we went there for our anniversary. It has good food, and a great view.
The socks are up to the gussets, so maybe they will have heels by the end of tomorrow. It all depends on how long I stay awake tonight!
The local weathermen now say no snow for Christmas, so it looks like our way to Richmond will be clear and Eric will leave a space heater on for us to be able to leave the boat. Oh good ..... I would have been disappointed.
We watched Tom Hanks on TV tell about making “Polar Express”. It is really an amazing movie from the clips I have seen, and the way it was shot is pretty ground-breaking for computer animation geeks. I guess this is the first movie of this kind made. Eric’s train friends (on his Yahoo train group) that have seen the movie say the train makes the movie worth seeing, even with out the super story. I’d love to take Zachary to see it after the holidays; I know he has the book and I think he would enjoy the movie too.
Tomorrow, knit knit and knit some more, and go to the Laundromat. Don’t think it would be kosher to show up for Christmas dinner with a load of laundry!
This warm up is deceiving though, the main heater gave a loud shutter and shake and gave up the ghost this morning. When the water temp. gets about 42 or so, it is all over as far as the heat exchanger is concerned. So, out come all the space heaters and we now play move the heaters depending on what time of the day it is and where we want heat! I actually think the small heaters make the boat more comfortable, but then what do I know?
I got up this morning and made a batch of trash (Chex mix) to include in the Christmas ditty bags I put together for my Yoga buddies. Nothing, extravagant, a candle, a bath scrubby, a CD of soft Christmas carols and trash.... How’s that for spreading Peace, Joy, Love and Light? That is our Yoga mantra at the end of each class, also fitting for Christmas I thought. We’ll meet at 5:30 and have a small get together before class.
Our marina manager gave us an early Christmas gift, a gift certificate for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. The one we wanted to take Mom and Dad to when they were here. You may remember we went there for our anniversary. It has good food, and a great view.
The socks are up to the gussets, so maybe they will have heels by the end of tomorrow. It all depends on how long I stay awake tonight!
The local weathermen now say no snow for Christmas, so it looks like our way to Richmond will be clear and Eric will leave a space heater on for us to be able to leave the boat. Oh good ..... I would have been disappointed.
We watched Tom Hanks on TV tell about making “Polar Express”. It is really an amazing movie from the clips I have seen, and the way it was shot is pretty ground-breaking for computer animation geeks. I guess this is the first movie of this kind made. Eric’s train friends (on his Yahoo train group) that have seen the movie say the train makes the movie worth seeing, even with out the super story. I’d love to take Zachary to see it after the holidays; I know he has the book and I think he would enjoy the movie too.
Tomorrow, knit knit and knit some more, and go to the Laundromat. Don’t think it would be kosher to show up for Christmas dinner with a load of laundry!
Monday news ....
We only got a trace of snow, barely dusted the docks. For us, the real event was the 40 knot winds that turned on about midnight, and roared all night. The over night temperatures here were 12-14 degrees according to the TV weather gurus. That gave us a wind chill of minus 2. Neither of us, or the cat either for that matter, ventured out to see what –2 felt like. It made me think of the horror stories my brother used to tell about getting off work in Omaha in the middle of the night, with every exposed part freezing as you walked in the cold to your car. I decided his experience was enough for me. Bad enough that I had to wear my Cuddle Duds (long underwear) under my jeans.
The highlight of my day was making Gumbo. I still don’t like the available sausage found in local groceries, nothing compares with sausage from Eunice Louisiana. However, since that’s not available I just have to make do. It still turned out pretty good if I do say so, and I enjoyed both bowls (small) I ate, and I have enough for tomorrow at lunch too. Eric, not having any Cajun genes, either acquired by marriage or otherwise, made chili. He did live in Texas quite a while, so I guess Chili is OK for his comfort food. Silly liked neither, but did get a small piece of chicken when I was cutting up the ingredients for the gumbo. She was so cold this morning she helped finish my oatmeal. She is one strange kitten.
Rebecca had an exciting day, 30 minutes to get both kids into snowsuits, and 5 minutes in the snow before they got too cold! She called twice, bored with being cooped up inside; they had already been to the grocery store (what a highlight expedition), and it was too cold for the usual park outing she and the kids take most days. Zach was highly disappointed that the snow was so powdery, he was sure he was going to create a snow man, and couldn't even make a snow ball. It reminded me of the many times as a child in Oregon that the snow was unsuitable for play. However, I do remember some snow forts and sled rides. Mike has the Walters family sled now, in Florida and I think he has earmarked it for my grandkids. However, now that he will be a grandpa soon the sled may have to come back to him again after Zack and Maddie use it. We’ll have to negotiate that I guess!
No knitting or anything constructive today, unless you count the excellent nap. Listening to the wind howl and hearing the boat grind against the pilings (protected by fenders – but still grinding) didn’t make for very good sleeping last night. I remedied that this afternoon. Eric has requested another pair of wool socks, so I’ll get them started tomorrow.
Water temps are going down, so the main heater is lagging. We have the two space heaters out and if the past is any example, we will be toasty warm.
The forecasters are hinting about snow for Christmas, not sure if the are just kidding us or are serious. If it does happen, then we may not make the Christmas Eve trip to Richmond, which will be a disappointment.
The highlight of my day was making Gumbo. I still don’t like the available sausage found in local groceries, nothing compares with sausage from Eunice Louisiana. However, since that’s not available I just have to make do. It still turned out pretty good if I do say so, and I enjoyed both bowls (small) I ate, and I have enough for tomorrow at lunch too. Eric, not having any Cajun genes, either acquired by marriage or otherwise, made chili. He did live in Texas quite a while, so I guess Chili is OK for his comfort food. Silly liked neither, but did get a small piece of chicken when I was cutting up the ingredients for the gumbo. She was so cold this morning she helped finish my oatmeal. She is one strange kitten.
Rebecca had an exciting day, 30 minutes to get both kids into snowsuits, and 5 minutes in the snow before they got too cold! She called twice, bored with being cooped up inside; they had already been to the grocery store (what a highlight expedition), and it was too cold for the usual park outing she and the kids take most days. Zach was highly disappointed that the snow was so powdery, he was sure he was going to create a snow man, and couldn't even make a snow ball. It reminded me of the many times as a child in Oregon that the snow was unsuitable for play. However, I do remember some snow forts and sled rides. Mike has the Walters family sled now, in Florida and I think he has earmarked it for my grandkids. However, now that he will be a grandpa soon the sled may have to come back to him again after Zack and Maddie use it. We’ll have to negotiate that I guess!
No knitting or anything constructive today, unless you count the excellent nap. Listening to the wind howl and hearing the boat grind against the pilings (protected by fenders – but still grinding) didn’t make for very good sleeping last night. I remedied that this afternoon. Eric has requested another pair of wool socks, so I’ll get them started tomorrow.
Water temps are going down, so the main heater is lagging. We have the two space heaters out and if the past is any example, we will be toasty warm.
The forecasters are hinting about snow for Christmas, not sure if the are just kidding us or are serious. If it does happen, then we may not make the Christmas Eve trip to Richmond, which will be a disappointment.
Monday, December 20, 2004
Maddie and Skyler with great-grandma!
This is great - grandma Annabelle and her two great-granddaughters, Skyler and Madeline. Skyler was 8 months, and Maddie 10 months when this was taken this October. Both girls have blue eyes and redish blond hair! Is great grand-ma proud of these girls go you think?
Missing great-grandson Zachary is behind the chair eating a bowl of ice cream!
Missing great-grandson Zachary is behind the chair eating a bowl of ice cream!
Christmas - six days away
It’s been a good weekend, I’ve had phone time with all my family, Mom and Dad, brother Mike, and both children .... Russell and Rebecca.
I’ve discovered my brother has a Blog, so maybe I best get serious about my own. See I am working on it!!! Not wanting to be outdone, and maybe, just maybe I can get pictures posted too.
I finished a baby sweater and hat this weekend, it was reported to be a 5 hour sweater, it took me the better part of 4 days! Of that time I ripped back and started over twice, and also had to research the edging on the hat and figure out how to do something new. So it was a good experience and I think my Yoga teacher who will be a grandma next month will like it. Picture to follow in a few days. It was a lot easier than the sweater posted here I did for Maddie though. Next will be one for Skyler. And Eric needs another pair of wool socks .... I have converted him!
The Tidewater area is expecting big weather the next two days, We are forecast to get 35 knot winds, and maybe .... 3 inches of the white fluffy stuff. Rebecca reported tonight that it is already snowing in Richmond. Much to Zachary’s delight. I wonder how she got him to to sleep? He is hot to make a snowman and play in the snow. I’ll be happy with none thank you, as it is we are going to be in the twenties with wind chills in the teens. Coldest weather here since Feb. 2003. Nothing like making the last winter on the boat memorable. We may soon be on auxiliary heaters if the water temperatures continue to fall.
I’ve been working on a Christmas riddle of sorts .... It was given to me at a party this past week. The majority of these I was able to crack by myself. About a half dozen I had to resort to an internet site of Christmas lyrics to figure them out. There are two I could not get at all. So here they are to give you something to do it you need a brain tease. Let me know is you get stumped. Mike you should do good on this!
How many of the following songs can you identify by the first letters of the first line of their lyrics?
HYAMLC
TFNTADS
GRYMGLNYD
ICUAMC
SNHNAICAIB
OTFDOCMTLGTM
DTHWBOHFLLLLLLLL
JTTWTLHC
YKDADAPAVCACADAB
ISMKSCUTMLN
CSBSDIHS
HTHASGTTNK
GGROBAR
OHNTSABS
AIWFCIMTFT
DTTSIAOHOS
WTKOOA
IDOAWCJLLOIUTK
CROANOJFNAYN
IBTLALC
OLTOBHSWSTL
SBRAYLITHSIG
IBHFC
WWYAMCWWYAMC
IHTBOCD
FTSWAJHS
JOSNLYETW
GKWLDOTFOS
UOTHRPOJGOSC
JBJBJBR
IHABCWY
JHTSBJRTTT
CTTMRPPP
WUNWTAGC
YBWOYBNC
The cat us snuggling up to my legs, she thinks it is time for bed. Eric is nodding off. Time for me to get this emailed off to the blog site, and then check and get the URL to send to all of you so you can read about my exciting life!!
I hope everyone is ready for Christmas and have their stocking hung by the chimney with care!
I’ve discovered my brother has a Blog, so maybe I best get serious about my own. See I am working on it!!! Not wanting to be outdone, and maybe, just maybe I can get pictures posted too.
I finished a baby sweater and hat this weekend, it was reported to be a 5 hour sweater, it took me the better part of 4 days! Of that time I ripped back and started over twice, and also had to research the edging on the hat and figure out how to do something new. So it was a good experience and I think my Yoga teacher who will be a grandma next month will like it. Picture to follow in a few days. It was a lot easier than the sweater posted here I did for Maddie though. Next will be one for Skyler. And Eric needs another pair of wool socks .... I have converted him!
The Tidewater area is expecting big weather the next two days, We are forecast to get 35 knot winds, and maybe .... 3 inches of the white fluffy stuff. Rebecca reported tonight that it is already snowing in Richmond. Much to Zachary’s delight. I wonder how she got him to to sleep? He is hot to make a snowman and play in the snow. I’ll be happy with none thank you, as it is we are going to be in the twenties with wind chills in the teens. Coldest weather here since Feb. 2003. Nothing like making the last winter on the boat memorable. We may soon be on auxiliary heaters if the water temperatures continue to fall.
I’ve been working on a Christmas riddle of sorts .... It was given to me at a party this past week. The majority of these I was able to crack by myself. About a half dozen I had to resort to an internet site of Christmas lyrics to figure them out. There are two I could not get at all. So here they are to give you something to do it you need a brain tease. Let me know is you get stumped. Mike you should do good on this!
How many of the following songs can you identify by the first letters of the first line of their lyrics?
HYAMLC
TFNTADS
GRYMGLNYD
ICUAMC
SNHNAICAIB
OTFDOCMTLGTM
DTHWBOHFLLLLLLLL
JTTWTLHC
YKDADAPAVCACADAB
ISMKSCUTMLN
CSBSDIHS
HTHASGTTNK
GGROBAR
OHNTSABS
AIWFCIMTFT
DTTSIAOHOS
WTKOOA
IDOAWCJLLOIUTK
CROANOJFNAYN
IBTLALC
OLTOBHSWSTL
SBRAYLITHSIG
IBHFC
WWYAMCWWYAMC
IHTBOCD
FTSWAJHS
JOSNLYETW
GKWLDOTFOS
UOTHRPOJGOSC
JBJBJBR
IHABCWY
JHTSBJRTTT
CTTMRPPP
WUNWTAGC
YBWOYBNC
The cat us snuggling up to my legs, she thinks it is time for bed. Eric is nodding off. Time for me to get this emailed off to the blog site, and then check and get the URL to send to all of you so you can read about my exciting life!!
I hope everyone is ready for Christmas and have their stocking hung by the chimney with care!
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