Friday, June 19, 2009

Chewy Lives!

A while back I mentioned that my daughter had moved to Oregon by mini-van. Along the way she lost her cat Chewy, at the first rest stop. Kelly was very upset at losing her furry friend, and had flyers made up, which her friend Eric's dad kindly posted everywhere in the vicinity of the lost feline. Two months later, Kell gets a call from a guy who says he took her cat to the humane society. I went and checked out the cat, compared photos, and what do you know, it's Chewy. So we are now pet owners again. We have to make arrangements to fly Chewy all the way to Oregon for a reunion. That shouldn't cost much :( Kelly is pretty excited, but not as much as her cat. This thing has been rubbing against me and Deb the whole time. Why is it a cat likes to shove it's ass in your face? That's why I'll never have a cat. It's the ass thing. I woke up Thursday morning with the flu, then had to drive to Angola to pick up the cat. Now I'm living on tylenol and theraflu, and coughing my head off. Swine flu? Sucking in cat hair while coughing is pretty special too. I can't catch a break in the health department lately. Ever since my colonoscophy I've been under the weather. It's like my whole immune system was flushed down the toilet. Looks like we'll miss another weekend of sailing, but the weather is supposed to be pretty bad tomorrow. This is like last year, where the only good days to sail were during the week. Oh well, in the meantime I will get healthy, so we can sail away for a while this summer.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Finally

Sailing at last! It was about time too. I could feel all the stress melt away as we left the dock. We had a slow sail both Saturday and Sunday, but we got out there, and the sun even came out on Sunday. We also got to try out our new canvas, and it made a big difference. Our old dodger really didn't help us dodge anything, as it was too small, and kind of awkward looking. Now the bimini comes forward, and drops down with glass to provide a great view, and it blocks all that cold Ontario air.
The new mattress we bought last fall feels great. Better than the one at home. We slept well our first weekend afloat. Still have some projects to finish up before we're ready to cruise, but first we have to figure out where we are going. With the big boat we have to choose wisely, as there are few slips we can fit into. Actually getting in is the easy part. Getting out is usually the challenge. I noticed late Sunday that my belt on the engine is throwing black powder all over everything, causing a burnt rubber smell. Time to change belts, and get some of the rust off the pulleys.
Friday we watched Pittsburgh skate with Lord Stanley's cup, much to the disappointment of my daughter, the Red Wings fan. We watched from the bar at Waypoints, while the Kid Kurry Band got everyone dancing, except us, as we were glued to the tube. We were doing the bar stool boogie. I have not missed a team skate with the Stanley Cup since the Bruins in 1970. My dad and I would put the rabbit ears out the attic window to pick up a Toronto station when the US didn't carry a game. As I recall, it was pretty damn cold up there, and the reception sucked, but we watched anyway. Damn that seems so long ago.
We will be out to the boat during the week for some measurements on our Mack Pack. We need to get this done, so I don't take a spill while putting the sail cover on. I hope to get some kayaking in too this week. I haven't done this in a while. We both feel like we're way behind this season, and there really is no excuse for it.
Charlie and Liz in SummerLand
Paul and Carol speeding along in their Sabre 34
The Bryan family in their 1st boat.
Boy that was a while ago.