Friday, December 20, 2013

Morning Tea


Morning Tea posts are my thoughts dumped onto pages. When I don't feel like writing much I just spill it.

I wasn't sure about how I would feel today after trying to kick this cold for the last few. I think I'm better. My head is still kind of stuffed and I seem to have a tiny cough, but it's too hard to tell before I have had at least three cups of tea. I'm double bagging today.

When I have a cold I seem to have periods of extreme energy and then I crash and go to sleep.

Our bimini keeps collecting mold underneath and no matter how much I wash it, it still comes back. It's pissing me off.

The last time I waterproofed the bimini after I cleaned I thought I soaked it good, but the last rain came right on through. WTF!

I've come to realize that marine products grossly overstate their effectiveness.

The blogger spell checker is not always correcting. Just something else to pizz me off.

When marine life is either mating or hunting I wish they would do it around someone elses boat. I keep checking the bilge.

There are some friendly people here at this marina, and then there are some who are not. The higher the value of their boat, the less friendly they appear.

I wanted to go for a morning spin on the old Murray but my legs are saying no thanks.

I noticed a slight intolerance towards sailboats by the fishermen on the dock. I talked with one, who kept his back to me most of the time until he told me that the damn Osprey lands on my mast and the shit gets blown on his boat! I wondered why that damn bird didn't crap on my deck the whole time he was there. I thought it was out of respect for a Morgan, but turns out it was the wind.

My iCloud storage is full.

The fishermen wash their boats every damn morning. The fishermen wax their boats every damn week. The fishermen don't fish.

Debra announced her retirement. Did I mention that? Maybe a post is in order.

January third will be the birthday for our Grandson Mason. It is also the birthdate of my Grandmother who I miss. I can still taste her liver dumpling soup and the best spaetzle ever, not to mention the German potato salad.

I'm hungry.

I have two horizontal aluminum propane tanks I want to sell. Anyone interested?

I still have some email contact with my pals at GM. I think I'm finally starting to fade away. It's like your previous life is slowly falling behind in your wake.

I used an upholstery cleaner on one of the salon cushions and it still looks like my Grandmother's couch from the 40's, but it smells better. I think. How would I know I have a cold. Deb refuses to sniff a cushion. We'll let our guests decide.

I want to varnish a small teak plaque with the Morgan nameplate on it and the guy who sold me the Epiphane's told me 12 coats. Twelve!! I was right to buy a boat without teak on the deck. Stainless steel baby. Stainless steel.

More tea.

Our view out of the boat is very unspectacular at this marina. We see boats and buildings, but they hide the highway. We can still hear a train every now and then and it reminds us about our trip south where we were always docked or anchored by either a highway, a train track, or both.

Our vessel will be hauled out soon for the last of the BIG projects to get done. Cutting out an aluminum holding tank is best left for the professionals. I just hope the boat doesn't smell like an outhouse when we get back. What? It does?

Based on what I read over at http://www.galleywenchtales.com/2013/12/rtfm-how-not-to-store-your-outboard.html  I will be running the crap out of our outboard before we head out.

I started our dual fuel filter project. In my mind.

There are no roaches crawling around on these docks like the others in Jax. Roaches only like brackish water? There are plenty of lizards on these dock, so maybe they are eating the roaches? Fine with me.

I suppose I should do something besides type nonsense, so I guess I'll clean the bimini and then hit up publix for lasagna night. I plan on germing some internet friends for dinner. No really guys I'm fine. The germ stage is long past. (eye roll and whistling)

Playing around in cold water seems like a good idea when you have a cold. I just can't stand looking at that bimini mold.


Cheers!
P

Thursday, December 19, 2013

It got me

Almost a year without a cold or flu since coming down here to Florida and it finally caught up with me. Must have been the trip up north. Maybe a germ got inside me and waited until it got warm before spreading it's wings and invading my throat and head. Maybe. It could have been one of those nose dripping people on the plane. Maybe it was the girl next to me who was coming back from Nicaragua that didn't want me to move over into the empty seat because she wanted to show me ALL of her photos on her tiny camera screen. Maybe. Anyhow it got me, and now I'm feeling like shit. Drugs help.



This stuff tastes like windex. 
Cheers!
P

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Beer, Diapers and some plumbing issues

I guess we moved to St. Augustine, but it's hard to tell as we really have not seen much of it since we arrived. After motoring down the ICW and parking the boat, we boarded a plane and arrived in Rochester NY for a baby shower and manly man diaper party. Todays diaper parties involve drinking, drinking games, drinking tunes, football, eating cooked animals off the grill and drinking. I ate fake meat products in order to maintain my man card. Not sure that worked. We then tried to look sober when the ladies got back from their cute little girly gift event called a baby shower. We were very refreshed when they showed up as we had taken to hiking up a nearby hill for a view of the city and the southern tier, and maybe a little mischief. Fresh air was a good idea. "Brisk" would be one word to describe the walk. "Fking cold" would be two words.


Hobo hut in the background. Guess nobody was home.
Or, a killer clown was in there with a machete.
Fortunately these were the only clowns out that night.

Wait there was one more. 

Kelly looked great and she is definitely ready for little Mason to get the heck out of there! The whole family is now on pins and needles waiting to see when we have to venture back to the tundra. Surprisingly, or not really, I had my old winter jacket and hiking sneaks still stuffed in the van. Amazing what you find in there. I was well prepared for the cold. Debra however was a wee bit under dressed and without boots, and had to do layers. She really really hates the cold. She was looking forward to getting back into the Florida Sun but got a call from work that said they needed her in town for a meeting. So Deb flew back to NY two days after getting back to Florida. She also flew right into a snow storm filled with flight delays. The only good thing about the trip was the time spent with Kelly and Eric. They made her a great meal and spent a nice evening together while I played plumber on the boat.

Deb seemed amused with what little snow there was, until she came back
two days later to a storm. You throw like a girl! 
Yes, more plumbing. I never finished the new head install as I didn't like the smallish vented loop and one inch discharge line going to the seacock. I replaced all this with one and a half inch and purchased about fifty hose clamps to complete the whole system. Because I am kind of a major germaphobe and not totally stupid I tested the unit with fresh water first. No leaks after ten flushings. Ten more, no leaks. Who will be the first to try it? I gave it a wiz whirl thinking if it leaked there was some small amount of comfort knowing it's your waste pooling in the bilge. So far, knock on wood, it's looking good. Number two is not allowed in the aft head, so I might add a Baby Ruth bar to the holding tank to see how the macerator handles it.

Next up is the twin fuel filters, opening port re-bedding, and fuel tank cleaning. Joy. I'm going to smell like diesel for about a month. My grandkid will think he was born in a truck stop.

We managed to get out and explore a little. We hit up the farmers market over at the Amphitheater. It was ok. Mostly crafts and very little fruits and veggies. We really do not have a lot of room for crafts on the boat, but there were some pretty cool items on display. The people were friendly and it was a nice morning to be out and about. I did score some escarole, which is hard to find lately. Beans and greens baby!



I guess you just show up with a guitar and play.
No, I only know one song and it's inappropriate for a farmers market
On the way home we stopped by the Sailors Exchange. We're talking about a building full of used boat equipment and supplies. I could spend a whole day there looking for treasure but Deb was not impressed, so we split. I'll bike back there some other time. Walking out to the car we spied a little sail loft in the back of the parking lot. Amazing. What else is hidden around this town?


Kind of a big pile of crap, but I like it.
We went back to Jax for a Bills vs Jags game with Nicole and Jonathan and good friends Deb and Rick. Bills Tailgating! We (Bills Fans) had a parking lot pretty much to ourselves and it felt like a home game, except there were no barrel fires, public urination, snowballs in the face and drunks fighting. Let's go Buff-a-lo! More on that later. I've got to go find a Baby Ruth bar.

Cheers!
P

Festivus decorations