Memorial Weekend, 2010

On Memorial Day weekend we took advantage of some very nice weather and headed over to our boat. We connected with our friends Walter and Brenda who are from Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada. They needed to get some work done on their boat and we told them to contact a place where we get our work done.

On Friday, very late in the afternoon, actually early evening, we all got together for sundowners in our cockpit.






Saturday Brenda, Richard and I all headed over to the local Farmer's Market where we bought some bread and then went to the local seafood store and picked up some huge shrimp which Richard would later cook on the grill.

After a couple of cocktails Richard went out and gave assistance to a man whose rudder had broken.



When Richard got back he cooked the shrimp and we ate dinner and then drank 4 bottles of wine. When the wine was gone Richard had me pull out a bottle of Earl Grey Liquor. This stuff is not made anymore but we enjoyed it, the entire bottle.




On Sunday we were all invited over to Harry & Melanie's house a/k/a Base Camp for an Ice Cream Social. I don't care what people say, ice cream does help ease a hangover.



Richard had a nice chat with Jesse and Cindy about a lot of nautical stuff.



On Monday morning we waved goodbye to Walter & Brenda aboard Brandarus as they left Oriental bound for points much further north.



We left Oriental about 9 a.m. on Monday and after several stops we managed to take a 6 hour ride and turn it into a 10 hour adventure. But it did include stopping at Chili's for some great burgers for dinner.

Where's the Warm Weather?

I must admit that after such a long, cold and incredibly snowy winter I am very anxious for long, sunny and warm days. What we have been getting is a series of cool, rainy days.

Now on the bright side I have not had to water my garden plants in the last week, on the down side they are not getting as much sun as I would like them to right now.

But the days are getting longer. Today sunrise was at 6:15 and sunset will be at 8:32. I slept through the sunrise due to overcast skies and drizzle.

The rhododendrons are in full bloom, well certain varieties, the one by the front door will not bloom for a few weeks yet. Almost all the leaves are out on the trees and the weeds have taken off.

The picture of the house below was taken one day after work when the rain had stopped and the clouds were breaking up.



This is our spring house, water comes out from here that feeds the large pond.



So as Mother Nature rewards us in many ways for the hell she put us through this winter I enjoy all the pleasures and gently remind myself that rain is a whole lot better than the almost 11 feet of snow that fell only a few short months ago.

Aw, Hail!!

Yesterday was a gorgeous day, at least during the morning and early afternoon. I went to work on the back deck planting my tomatoes, cucumbers, Dahlias and strawberries. I knew there was a chance for afternoon showers and thunderstorms but I did not expect 3 separate rounds of hail. Damn!!



Above is what the back deck looked like after round one.



I am not sure if the poor Dahlia pictured above will survive.



The cucumber plants pictured above suffered also. Most lost their top leaves and almost all the stems were crushed or severed. Luckily I still had some seeds left and planted about 16 seeds in each of the three planters like the one shown.



The tomatoes also took a beating but they fared better than the cucumbers. Most plants lost some leaves but the stems look to be intact and undamaged. Whew.



This Hosta in the front yard looks like it got hit with a shotgun. I did not take a picture of the driveway but it rained so hard we have gullies. Richard will have to go out on the tractor later on and replace the gravel that washed away.

After I replanted the cucumbers I moved them, the Dahlias and the tomatoes under some cover. They will still get some sun but if it hails again this afternoon at least they will be protected. Hopefully today's round of rain and t-storms will not bring more hail.

It's Spring, But Not Warm

In my garden world some things are going great. Like the cucumbers pictured below. I am perplexed as to why the sunflowers are not growing up, but over. Very strange. Pictured below on the left are my petunias in the two front boxes. They are just NOT growing even though they are getting a lot of sunlight every day. My tomatoes are doing the best and will be ready to make the move outside by this weekend or next at the latest.

In my first blog entry I said I would be happy to see the Frog Fountain running again. Richard drained the pond and got the Frog working again. It is nice to come home after work and hear the soothing sound of the fountain.

All of our Azaleas are in bloom. Considering that it was 31 degrees on Mother's Day when we woke up things are doing well.

What has impressed me the most this spring are the Daffodils, Tulips and Garlic we planted here last fall. We planted them very late and I was not sure if anything would come up this spring but as you can see the Daffodils and Tulips are doing great. The Garlic has started to come up and I am looking forward to being able to harvest it in the fall.

On a Serious Note,,,,,,

Several of you know already, but some don't. On April 13th, 2010 I will become a six (6) month survivor of breast cancer.

It has been a rough battle at times, fighting this insidious disease, which creeps up from behind and hits you when you are not looking.

I am no longer ashamed of the fact that I had a mastectomy of my right breast in October of 2009. And I am looking forward to the day when I can have my body somewhat back to normal, after reconstruction.

I have come to terms with my mortality and accepted the fact that I am no where near as "bullet proof" as I thought I was this time last year. Nothing like those three little words "You have cancer" to bring you down to earth quickly, sort of like a slap in the face.

I have made it a personal goal to watch over my friends and harp on them to get their mammograms done when needed and to do their monthly breast exams. I ask all of my lady friends who are reading this to take care of themselves. get your mammograms and do your monthly self exams. I found my first lump because my right arm brushed across my breast in an unusual way and I felt a lump. Tests later revealed a second lump. It had been 5 months since I had last done a self exam. The lump I found was about 1/2 inch across, not very small, maybe the size of a small pecan my surgeon said.

I am one of the lucky ones who did not have to have chemo. It would have only increased my chances of being cancer free in 10 years by 2% and the drawbacks were the hair loss, the puking and a risk of heart damage. Since I had the mastectomy and the cancer had not yet spread to my lymph nodes radiation treatments would do me no good. So, I am taking one pill each day, Tamoxifen. It gives me hot flashes from hell and makes it almost impossible to lose weight. But it beats the alternative.

I intend to go sailing in the Bahamas again with Richard. I intend to be there when I become a grandmother and I want to be there to teach my grandchildren the wonderful feeling of racing along at 8 knots under the power of the wind alone and to show them the beautiful places the wind and a good diesel engine can take you.

We're Getting Started

It is really Springtime here in the mountains. I have spent many, many previous days figuring out how many of each type of certain plants I wanted in my garden this summer. Then, for the first time I decided to grow them all from seeds, thus saving me a lot of money (if I am successful). In all I have spent a little more for all the seeds and starter kits than I would for just the flowers for the back deck and front porch. "Such a deal" I can hear Richard saying with his best Yiddish accent.



In the four starter containers below I have a lot of Pansys which will fill 8 planter boxes on the back deck; Wave Petunias for the hanging baskets on the back deck; Dahlias for the flower pots to go on the tables on the back deck and in the planter box on the front porch. I also have cucumbers, green beans and sunflowers. Whew! In the two starter kits below I have assorted sweet peppers, basil and eggplant in the one on the left. And on the right I have two types of tomatoes. I have about 3 weeks until I can plant outdoors for the summer.

Not shown are the garlic bulbs which have sprouted in the planter in front of the woodshed. Back in the fall Richard and I planted a LOT of garlic (it's a major food group in our house), some Daffodils and Tulips. The garlic and tulips are coming up but the daffodils seem to be MIA.

I hope that this turns out to be a good year for the garden. In 2008 a few days after I planted everything we had a hail storm from hell and it beat all the basil, and most of the tomatoes to death. I had a hard time replacing the plants.



Last year it rained so damn much that is was late August before the basil started to really grow and the eggplants never produced. Most of the tomatoes rotted on the vine before maturity. I have heard that this summer will be hot and dry. Hot for us is 75 degrees at this elevation. But we'll see how things work out.

Easter Weekend

Liliuokalani (Lili for short) and I packed up and head off to meet Richard on Hale Kai for Easter weekend. We arrived about 7pm on Good Friday. Saturday started out chilly and very foggy but by the afternoon we were enjoying the warm day in the cockpit.



Saturday afternoon we had some dock mates over for sundowners. By the time they left it was too late to make dinner, roughly 10 pm.



On Easter Sunday we slept in until Lili got us up because she had to go ashore to do her business. Again it was a foggy morning but by the afternoon we were once again sitting in the cockpit enjoying the warm temps. Lili was enjoying herself so much that she was giving Richard lots of puppy kisses.


Monday morning there was no fog and we were able to enjoy our mornig coffee in the cockpit before I had to get packed up for the 6 hour drive home. I can't wait to get back over for another weekend. There is nothing in the world like being rocked to sleep on a boat.