One more day

One more day of this flu is all I can stand. I'm getting a little tired of this house, and my cat companion. The cat anticipates where I'm heading, and arrives there first, whether it's the bed, a chair, the couch, or the toilet. It's pissing me off. I'll wake up from a nap and find the thing draped over my chest, or laying on my feet. Enough! Tomorrow I go back to work. Deb can deal with the fur ball. I wanted to go back to work today, but everyone is freaked out over this swine flu, and they'd rather I stayed home until it's gone. Well, screw it, tomorrow I'm back in business. I'll just load up on meds, and hide out in my office all day. I have to skipper a boat tomorrow evening in a race, so I'm going to have to force myself to get better. Power of positive thinking. :) Kelly will get her cat back real soon now. I just hope she doesn't end up like this woman...

Down and out for Father's day

Happy Father's day! I'd love to visit Dad today, but giving him the swine flu would not be a very nice gift. It's the gift that keeps giving too, as Deb now has it. My coughing spasms have subsided, but they have been replaced with Deb's. I feel bad, but it's hard to isolate someone within a house. She tried her best, but this flu spreads pretty easy. I'm assuming it's the swine flu, as it has hit Rochester pretty hard, and is reported to be spreading throughout the city and burbs. It feels kind of special, knowing you are part of a pandemic. Not a really good time to be taking sick days at work. At a time when they are deciding who to keep, and who to throw back, you don't want to be the sick one. The only shot I have, is if I go in and germ the place, and level the playing field. Can't toss us all back! I'm kidding of course. Well Dad I didn't even get you a card today. I was so focused on the stupid cat, and my coughing up phlegm, that I forgot. I am overdue for a visit, and if I can get a good string of good health going, I'll drop in to share a pint with ya. I remember Saturday, or Sunday mornings laughing together over the Stooges! Good times.

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.

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.

Sick weekend

About Thursday night I was feeling a bit weak, and not from the beer I had with a buddy of mine after work. Without all the crappy details, I spent most of the next three days in bed, and on the toilet. Ugh, I hate stomach issues. I even went to emergency services, as it got to be too much to handle. Nothing positive was found, but I'm slowly getting better. So I missed another weekend of sailing :( Besides the shit storm at home, there is one at work as well. By the end of July, I will find out who I work for, or, if I'm working at all. I will probably be sailing around the lake when I find out, so maybe I'll just keep going out the St. Lawrence once I get the news. I would go out the canal, but Deb has a fondness for French Canadian wilderness, I guess. I found the camera cable! So below are some pictures of what's happened over the last few weeks, in chronological order.

Another season begins I don't like the way the mast bends

Always good when she floats the wiener mobile still makes us laugh

The beautiful bride and groom in Michigan City

The crappy weekend