Happy and Grateful this New Year

Debra and I managed to make it to Florida, after we were comfortable leaving Kelly, who is doing great by the way. It was not an easy decision to leave, but Eric is taking good care of her. She just needs to rest and heal at this point. She doesn't need us staring at her while she rests on the couch. We're finding out quickly that parents are taken in small doses. Kind of like my Dad and I. We can't exist in the same space for more than twenty four hours. Not sure why. Maybe I should ask Mom.

So here we are in frosty Florida. The evenings are a bit cool, but we have a heater going, which makes it somewhat comfortable. The first thing I noticed getting back on board was the amount of humidity present. Deb had to work a few days so I opened up the boat to let the warm air in and dry things out. What a huge difference this makes. With Deb working all day, and getting home in the dark cool evenings, the boat does not get a chance to breath. I stopped at Lowes and picked up a De-humidifier, which I thought was way too big for the boat.

It's a 45 pint model, which means it can suck that amount of water out of the air in a 24 hr cycle. We gave it a try, and what a difference it makes. We ran the thing all night and in the morning there was no presence of moisture around the hatches and ports. We were dry and warm too! The unit puts out a little heat, enough to keep the cabin at 64, while it was 40 degrees outside. Not bad. Dry and warm is good, though I do wake up extremely thirsty and wrinkled. What? The wrinkles aren't going away?

Deb and I got to know each other again, do a few boat chores, then head over to Hilton Head to stay with our friends Deb and Rick. They have a beautiful place just a walk to the beach, and we hung out with them and their wonderful family, along with our daughter Nicole and Jonathan. We've known Deb and Rick for, well, ages it seems. All of our kids know each other as well. The whole group consists of four couples who have been hanging out together since college. We could not get everyone together for the holidays, but we all stay in touch. We have a lot of history together, and talking about old times is incredibly funny. We really are a unique group.

 

Merry Christmas from Hilton Head!

So amongst all the stress of this Holiday we received news from our Daughter Nicole, that she is engaged to Jonathan! Hooray! They have been together for some time now, and make a great couple. That was really welcome news.

We had quite the emotional Holiday. In a way I'm glad it's over. We look forward to 2013, when we become liveaboards in Florida. Happy New Year to everyone out there! Best wishes for peace and prosperity.


Only a few weeks left in Roc City. I will miss my New York family and friends, but I will  not miss the weather. I'm back in town for my retirement announcement, and then I'm packing it up and heading south.

My tiny snowbound apartment with the attic that the killer clown lives in.

At least the sky was blue for a change.

With all the snow and ice that accumulated over the last week or two, I managed to wipe out on my daughters porch steps, slamming my kidney and rib onto the last step. I bet it looked spectacular, as my feet went up in the air, as my head went back. It was a classic. I was carrying a backpack, which I think absorbed some of the contact, so I didn't break anything. I don't think. The pain has been fabulous, and it makes for quite the long evenings staring at the ceiling all night. Now I not only look like a zombie, I am walking like one too. It's probably the only thing keeping the clown in the attic from coming downstairs, assuming all the footsteps and noises up there can only come from very large red shoes. What kind of clown would be in an attic? Why, a killer clown of course.

Cheers!

P