November 1, 2009
Sunday
Hot and sunny once again.
Sunset at 5:45!
Happy Birthday Deb and Lisa….my November birthday girls. Hope I did not miss anyone.
We made an attempt to stay cool today. Bill took off with a few couples for an outing and the marina was so freaking quite it was almost scary. Not a creature was stirring…not even the cats. They were all huddled under the bushes trying to stay cool. Even after all this time they are still skittish with us; I have given up hopes of ever having any type of relationship with them. All they want is my scraps and then they ignore me. So be it. We still have the fish lurking under the boat always waiting for hand outs, and the lizards continue to visit the boat wanting to nestle in the plants! Bill joined us for an early evening cocktail to once again scorn the politicians, but otherwise not much happening. A quiet day in the neighborhood!
November 2, 2009
Monday
So hot again
I cannot believe the weather….the weather station says 84* and 40% humidity, but I am beginning to think it has lost its mind! There is no way it was only 84* and still not much of a breeze. Barry and I read on the aft and watch Bill painstakingly wash the boat from yesterday’s run. What a day he picked to clean! It really was a gorgeous day with big billowy clouds in the sky, but a breeze would have been much appreciated. Love to all for now!
November 3, 2009
Tuesday
Another scorcher
It was somewhat cool when we first awoke so I once again attempted to clean windows in the salon area, to no avail. Inside was a breeze, but water spots on the outside do not want to leave us. Even checked on line for solutions and they are all so varied we will have to pick and choose. But, not today. Way too hot with the sun beating down and trying to do anything outside would be fruitless. We changed the water maker filters and found them to be quite disgusting. Eweee! The flow also has dropped considerable…not good…down to about 8 gallons per hour from 16 per hour. What! Another project for another day.
November 4, 2009
Wednesday
Crazy day…still hot
Barry awoke early to a vicious thunder and lightening storm. Down pours for about 3 hours. After closing everything up he discovered the auto pilot to be freaking out and soon afterwards realized it was dead….dead….dead! OMG, the challenges are insurmountable. I can’t imagine smooth cruising without the auto pilot. While MacGyver crawled into the compartment under the helm to check out its electrical system I was on mold patrol eliminating all from the bridge. Of course, it will return but for now the bridge sparkles. After determining there did not seem to be a problem with the auto pilot’s electrical system Barry took apart the main component reaching the mother board. One of the chips is burned and likely the main issue. We still wonder if the lightening had anything to do with this. How does a chip just burn out?? Especially since it has been sitting idle for a couple of months. This is so not good! He spent the afternoon searching online for a replacement. That component alone retails for anywhere from $1400 to $1800….what a wonderful thing. He continued his search to Ebay and found one there, but just not for sale….it will be a bidding war. I hate those things. He emailed the site owner to see if he would accept a “buy now” offer only to get a response back from a gentleman who said he had just returned home from a 3 month stay in Treasure Cay. Being a boat owner he felt our pain, and will check with the regs of Ebay to see what he can do for us. What a small, small world. Today…not such a wonderful day in the neighborhood.
November 5, 2009
Thursday
82* and cloudy
Very eerie day today. Cloudy and overcast with winds out of the north. Seems there may be a front coming through. I will welcome it. We need a bit of relief from the heat and the coolness will allow me to make dough for pizza night. We need a treat after all the BS that has been happening. So, later in the day the wind and clouds continued, but no rain. The dough and end result of the pizzas was fab. Sometimes you just hit is right. Bill joined us for dinner then we all headed to the bar. Tonight….jam packed with people. There had to be 200+ people milling around. They also sold tons of pizza and beer. Even the general manager was there pitching in…serving pizza and restocking the beer. The night was so successful for the marina. Entertainment from Chris the Burner has been extended to Friday and Saturday nights. I am sure Pat sees dollar signs with the hopes of the same turn out for the next couple of evenings. Still…I cannot fathom where all these people came from. Back on the home front, Barry checked email to discover the guy from Texas will not sell the auto pilot out right to him…what a bitch and so much for feeling our pain! He doesn’t think it would be fair to the other person bidding. I sincerely doubt that…he is looking out for himself and how much “more” money he can score for himself. So now Barry has to enter the bidding war. We need the freaking auto pilot! Love and all that crap to all….
November 6, 2009
Friday
80* and windy
Whoo hoo! It has cooled down big time. I am actually a bit nippy! Winds gusting to 29 mph out of north. That is big. Great day to do some laundry and embarrass Barry by hanging it off the bow to dry …he always loves that. It was a wonderful day and I actually was able to take a nice long, long walk…get this body moving once again. We exchanged books at the library and the wonderful women working there offered us a ride to Marsh Harbour if need be…people are so nice here. As it turned out, later in the evening, Chris the Burner did show up at the bar and Lord only knows why. The bar is back to normal….dead, dead, dead! Love to all!
November 7, 2009
Saturday
75*
Breezy and cool
I see another walk on the horizon! Barry has been checking Ebay. Still only one other bidder who is on “auto.” Every time Barry places a bid the competitor’s jumps another $5…and now at $355. I suggested he back off until the bitter end with the hopes the other guy will think he has lost interest. Such a touchy situation! We need to prevail! So, we were watching the food channel and someone was making veal cutlets; oh my, what cravings we are having. No such animal here. Then, lo and behold, Bill shows up with an invite for chicken-fried venison and mashed potatoes! Dreams really do come true! With a huge salad in hand Barry and I headed over to enjoy. The venison was so freaking good. Actually, almost tasted like veal cutlets…and our cravings squashed…ahhhh. Tender cutlets, battered and deep fried! Yum, yum, yum. And to think…we were going to make chicken yet again! Now that was a wonderful day in the neighborhood!
November 8, 2009
Sunday
Low 80’s
The bids on Ebay for the auto pilot have increased to over $500 with additional bidders joining in. The race is on. Today was a work day…changing oil filters and trying to discern exactly what is going on with the water maker…now providing only 8 gallons per hour. Barry is starting to think it is time for new pumps…just wonderful.
November 9, 2009
Monday
Low 80’s and breezy
Very nice day today. Barry spent a good part of the day conversing with Kyle from Spectra regarding the water maker issues. He is of the opinion that we need new pumps. Not knowing exactly what would do the trick Barry ordered a rebuild kit and a new pump,
with the hopes that one will be a winner. Later in the evening the auto pilot bids were up to $1200+. In the bitter end it sold for $1825! Barry tried to jump in at $1875 but the computer was too slow to react and we lost. What a bummer. Love to all.
November 10, 2009
Tuesday
Low 80’s
Still in the low 80’s but by mid afternoon the breeze had gone away and warmed things up considerably. My attempt at doing laundry was fruitless as the Laundromat was closed today. Barry found that he can send the mother board of the auto pilot back to the manufacturer to be repaired for a cost of $500. It was boxed and a wonderful guy, Matt, that Bill had befriended took it on its merry way to be placed in the mail tomorrow when he returns home to North Carolina…lovely! Also, things seem to be picking up here. Today three catamarans and a sail boat joined us at the marina. Whoo hoo! Now that it is nearing Thanksgiving there will be a lot more activity, especially with hurricane season soon coming to an end. We really have been so fortunate and very thankful that nothing came our way.
November 11, 2009
Wednesday
Cooling off
Low 70’s
It is really Friday! I have been remiss in blogging. Pretty much same ol’ same ol’ here, although we are not complaining. Today, the temps were down to 72* and down right chilly for us. Thankfully, I have socks! The cool weather allowed us to make more home made pasta…great stuff, but I cannot wait for the pasta maker to arrive. It will make pasta making so much easier. Our efforts gave us a wonderful meal. I even made Italian bread…gotta have the bread to go with pasta!
November 14, 2009
Saturday
73* with a light breeze out of the west
Another gorgeous day, although I do feel badly for the tourists as I am sure they have ventured here expecting heat. There are now 4 boats out in the harbor, nobody by the pool and even Bill has been laying low. I must admit this is better than sweating our butts off, but a bit warmer would be nice. And I shall leave you with this note…I am tired of things going wrong! Barry now will have to battle with the light switch on the electrical panel that refuses to go off…OMG, will shit ever stop happening??? Ciao for now!
November 15, 2009
Sunday
Warm and sunny
Another beautiful day with a lot of reading being done. Bill joined us for a cocktail and then later dinner. He and Barry headed to the bar to scope thing out up there and I was off to bed early…great day.
November 16, 2009
Monday
77*
It was actually a bit warmer today than it has been lately. I spent most of the day online trying to come up with favors for Christmas dinner to no avail. We may just have to go without this year! We headed to the library to exchange books to find the library is now open every day…I suppose things are truly picking up in our wonderful neighborhood.
November 17, 2009
Tuesday
84*
Warmer today and we did the book slug thing…tomorrow we have dedicated the day to cleaning!
November 18, 2009
Wednesday
76*
It was a clean sweep today! No reading until we cleaned….and we did. We spent most of the day sprucing things up and I must say it was rewarding….clean is good. A couple of hours on the aft with our books was a good payback…dinner…and R & R for the evening. All is good!
November 19, 2009
Thursday
Warming up again
Wonderful 7 AM walk. It was cool at that time and it was great! The market was full of wonderful goodies… Bill brought us fresh Wahoo after his fishing expedition, but we filled up on cheese and crackers while playing Upwords and dinner was nonexistent! Tomorrow is another day and we will cook the fish then.
November 20, 2009
Friday
Low 80’s
Barry joined me for a walk this morning, but we did not get off and running until 9 AM and by then it was too warm to go too far, but yet we managed to get a couple of miles in. More reading and relaxing with a wonderful dinner of the Wahoo Bill had brought us…so freaking good. I could have fish every day!
November 21, 2009
Saturday
Low 80’s again
I did the walk myself this morning…at least a couple of miles, maybe more. I headed out a bit before 8 AM. It was good, but earlier is better as the sun is not streaming down at that time of day. When I returned I showered to find the pump in the aft shower was not working…Augh! Another project and it took the entire day. But after cleaning and repairing 3 motors and pumps we have one that works in the shower and parts for future repairs. Yipee! It turned out to be a good thing. There was quite the ruckus at the bar tonight…even music, so we headed up to discover what all the hoopla was about. At least 50 people with someone new choosing the music…much to our delight it did not include all the Bahamian favorites. Bill joined in and it was a wonderful evening. Love to all.
November 22, 2009
Sunday
85*
Wow! It seems to be warming up again. 85* and no breeze today. Barry headed to the market for a few provisions to find the shelves pretty bare! Simply amazing! At mid week there was so much stuff they had to pile bread in crates in the middle of the isle, and the meat coolers were jammed with wonderful offerings. He said he could not believe how empty the shelves and meat coolers were….very slim pickings, but he did manage a few items. We will have to wait for mid week to really restock when they get a new shipment. This is the real deal now. The marina, harbor and condos are filling up with tourists again. The freezer was defrosted today. I have it down pat now and it takes a mere ½ hour to accomplish. The remainder of the day was spent as a Sunday should be spent…relaxing!
November 23, 2009
Monday
77*
A bit cooler today and the walk was wonderful at 7 AM….although I am not so sure how Barry felt about a 7 AM walk. Perhaps he would have preferred a bit later! Oh well….it is much too hot later. A bit of shopping and more reading added to a wonderful day. The marina is truly hoping. More and more boats pull in each day and add to the hub bub of what is going on… Love to all!
November 24, 2009
Tuesday
73*
Wow…it is cool and we are loving it. I purchased a nice ham from Golden Harvest for a dinner and then…pea soup! Our favorite and it is cool enough now to eat soup. Soup is my favorite! Barry continues with tracking the stock market for us and it is a good thing since he is so goooood at it. We are up at day’s end. It is a good thing and he now considers this his job! Along with the ham I have scanned many peas and rice recipes and came up with my own and it smells wonderful. I will save this recipe and pass it along if worthy! Love to all.
November 25, 2009
Wednesday
73*
Laundry day! I walked while the clothes were washing. By the time I returned to the boat it was after noon and I was starving! Craving a cheeseburger, Barry and I headed over to the Coco Beach Bar. God, I have not been to the beach for such a long time…how stupid. It is so beautiful there and now I could really settle in with a good book and enjoy reading while listening to the surf without getting fried by the sun. The burgers were decadent along with a huge side of fries. Come on….gotta do it once in a while. It has been close to a month since we have had burgers as we are trying so hard to be good doobies. We headed to the market after lunch to pick up a chicken for turkey day along with all the sides…sweet potatoes, stuffing, and such. The turkeys are so big that we decided to truly celebrate Thanksgiving when Freedom and Blue Blaze arrive. The smallest turkey would have provided tons of leftovers that would have gotten real old real fast…and probably would have become fish food. There are just so many leftovers one can eat.
November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving!
80* and Sunshine galore
What a gorgeous day!
I am trying to have a good day. Last night we realized there is a problem with the brand new air conditioning unit in the aft cabin. It is running, but not cooling. So frustrating! I am so tired of things (big freaking things) going wrong. Ditto for Barry, but once he has his little freak out he just gets down to business trying to rectify the wrong. Hopefully it is something he can repair with little ado. Quite the rain storm last night with very little leakage of water from the bridge windows since Barry added more caulking a couple of days ago. Much better! Just a couple of wet cloths to ring out as oppose to flooding on the bridge. At least that issue is almost taken care of. A few more squirts here and there and that should be that! A good part of the morning was spent prepping for dinner by me while MacGyver worked on the AC. Our make shift dinner was wonderful. All the trimmings with a roasted chicken was great!
November 27, 2009
Friday
73*
Nice day, other than the AC issues. Barry called the manufacturer who passed us on to Sean Nixon who is here in the Abacos and does repairs. Email and phone calls were placed and we can only hope he will respond. Bill knows him and told us we can only hope he will respond…how wonderful! We met a couple from “Go Deep” from Ft. Lauderdale tonight…Eric and Kathy. Nice couple. I gave her some cuttings from basil so they can have mozzarella, tomatoes and basil….I am jealous that she has the real thing with mozzarella brought from home! I would have loved to further our conversation with them but we were invited to Bill’s fish fry tonight. Wonderful Wahoo and fries…so decadent…our cholesterol levels are climbing for sure, but is was so good. We headed to the bar afterwards to be entertained by a Junkanoo band that was very festive and entertaining. Great Friday!
November 28, 2009
Saturday
80*
What a wonderful day! We launched the dinghy, a very long awaited episode. Should have done it sooner, but now it has cooled off to the point of being able to take a ride in the sunshine. We headed out right after lunch and took a 2 hour cruise all around the area and over to the Atlantic side of the island all along the beach. Gorgeous day with calm seas and no wind. Many ocean sightings…a spotted ray, turtles, fish and a gorgeous heron that allowed a photo shoot! We returned to the marina at 3:00 and with pizza in mind for dinner I made the dough while Barry cleaned the dinghy. A quick run to the market for a few items for pizza and we were good to go. Meanwhile a great little run about that was tied up across from us returned and we discovered they were having “shore power” issues. Probably a fried electrical line. Barry tried to assist as best he could in the dark to no avail. He will continue to aid them in the morning. I headed over to “Go Deep” to say good bye to Eric and Kathy and inquire about their return as they do the cross over frequently and end up in Treasure Cay often. They will return at Christmas time and we will hook up again. Kathy surprised me with a wonderful gift! A 2 pound ball of fresh mozzarella as a thank you for the fresh basil. If I could have jumped on her boat and kissed her I would have. OMG, what a wonderful gift. The Margarita pizza with the fresh cheese was the best!! We also had the beet and feta pizza. This has to be the end of our decadent week of eating. Tomorrow we will be back to a healthy menu. Oh my, roll me home why don’t you! So happy! Love to all!
November 29, 2009
Sunday
85*
Barry awakened to find the dinghy stuck under the dock! OMG the poor baby! After Barry spent the day cleaning and sprucing her up yesterday… She was almost totally submersed under the dock and suffered many abrasions! Barry successfully deflated her enough to get her out from under and we pulled her up onto the dock and gave her the cleaning of a life time. Cleaning, sanding the abrasions and a few coats of wax brought her back to life! Thank God! I have been remiss in blogging about Larry the lizard who has been staying with us for a while on the aft under the dock box. So freaking cute at about 1 inch long. There is also another that loves to hang in the basil plant. We also came home to find Kermit the frog sunning itself on the outside salon window…a regular zoo!
November 30, 2009
Monday
85* and sunny, sunny
We got up early…may as well continue the cleaning spree. We spent 5 hours washing the entire boat, scrubbing and cleaning! It needed to be done and has not been done for almost 5 months. Granted, we have not done much traveling so it does not get “really” dirty but it was amazing at how much grime we removed. We even used our sparkly clean dinghy to wash the hull. I only wanted to push anal man Barry overboard once or twice during the process. Augh! He is such a fanatic! Exhausted by 3 PM we finally cleaned up and left the rest for another day. The eisenglass still needs to be done as the water here is so hard it leaves many, many water spots and 210 Polish is the only thing that will remove that…tomorrow perhaps! Love to all!
