June In Numbers

Clockwise from upper left: (1) Limoncello; (2) Plum liqueur; (3) Recycling old towels; (4) Getting crafty with my Sailrite sewing machine; (5) Cheap and cheerful frames from Walmart; (6) More kitty sitting.

Every month I do a random wrap-up in numbers of some of the things I got up to. June was a pretty quiet month at Indiantown Marina as most people have cleared out for the summer. Fortunately, my pals at MJ Sailing and Sailing Wind Spirit are still here to keep me amused, along with some other local friends. Summer officially started this month in the northern hemisphere - not that you would notice any difference in southern Florida. It's always hot and muggy here, just varying shades of hot and muggy as the seasons change.

Here's some of what happened on Tickety Boo during June, by the numbers:

• 2 - The number of homemade liqueurs I made. I'm using this recipe for the limoncello (an Italian lemon liqueur). For my plum liqueur, I've basically chucked plums, cinnamon sticks and whole cloves into a jar with cheap vodka. It's kind of similar to how I made damson gin when we lived in Scotland. I'll add some sugar syrup to it later. The hard part is to wait for them to age for several months before sampling. 
• 9 - The number of things I've magicked up on my Sailrite sewing machine including some fabric liners for storage baskets, a simple case to protect my cell phone, an adorable (if I do say so myself) tangerine swirl patterned tote bag and a couple of zippered pouches. Everything was made out of scrap material from other projects. I also re-purposed an old towel, cutting it into smaller sections and binding the hems to keep them from fraying.
• 16 - The number of meatless days I had. I've been trying to do more vegetarian meals lately including dahl (curried lentils), black bean chili, pasta primavera and the ever popular PB&J on cinnamon raisin bread.
• 19 - The number of picture frames I hung up on our boat. It's cheap and cheerful way to decorate in tiny spaces.
• 15 - The number of minutes it took me to do my New Zealand taxes online. Dead easy compared to doing our US taxes. 
• Countless - The number of hours I've spent researching various boat projects, equipment etc. It can take a lot of time to even understand a subject (such as snap installation tools, varnish, chain plates, galley faucets, water filtration or safety tethers), let alone figure our what your options and potential costs are. 
• $1.06 - How much I spent on a cute pair of flip flops at the dollar store. They have colorful surfboards on them. I basically live in cheap flip flops these days, but I always feel bad when I throw a pair out after a couple of months and contribute to our landfill issues. 
• 2 - The number of bloggers I met last month - Ed and Vicky from Catching the Horizon. It almost seems like every sailing blogger ends up in Indiantown at some point or another. It was lovely to meet them while they were here putting their boat in storage.
• 3 - The number of calls I've had to make to the insurance company and doctors' offices to try to straighten out some insurance claims. And it's still not sorted. {Sigh}
• 9 - The number of books I read during June. I've always loved reading - not only is it a great escape, but I'm constantly learning something new. Like Dr Seuss said, "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."

Hope you had a wonderful June and an even better July!

In case you missed them, here are some of our favorite blog posts from last month:

5 Frugal Things & The Cruising Kitty
Wordless Wednesday | Soylent Green
3 Things Kids & Writers Worry About

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