Happy Halloween

Image via The Graphics Fairy

Halloween was one of my favorite holidays growing up, probably because it centers around my favorite food group - candy.

I remember going out trick-or-treating with my sister and then coming home grinning ear to ear, emptying out my plastic pumpkin and inventorying my candy from the least desirable (anything with nuts) to the most desirable (Hershey bars and Reese's peanut butter cups). There's nothing more satisfying than looking at a whole mess of sugary treats lined up neatly on the carpet. After some serious negotiation and candy swapping with my sister, I would try to eat as much candy as possible before my mom started giving dire warnings about cavities and tummy aches.

These days, I try to avoid wearing silly costumes and candy. I have no desire to dress up in a costume, but when it comes to distracting myself from thoughts of sugary treats, well that's proving a lot more difficult.

Thankfully, the internet is my friend. It's chock full of lots of distracting things like stories about creepy ghost ships. Did you know that the Lyubov Orlova has been drifting around the Arctic Circle crewed by hordes of cannibal rats since 2013? The mere thought of cannibal rats running around loose on a boat is enough to take away my appetite. As if I didn't have enough to worry about, now I have to worry about cannibal rats taking over my boat.

I also stumbled across Google's Halloween Doodle and its Magic Cat Academy game this morning. A cute cat, a magic wand and ghosts - so much better than thinking about cannibal rats.

After a few rounds of the Magic Cat Academy, I moved onto googling "cute cats dressed up for Halloween" and found these cats who deeply resent wearing costumes.

The sun isn't even up yet and I've already managed to distract myself for an hour, thanks to the internet. At this rate, I should be able to avoid thinking about sugary treats all day long, but it doesn't bode well for getting anything else productive done today, like laundry. {Sigh}


How do you distract yourself from thinking about sugary treats? What are you going to do to celebrate Halloween? Are you going to wear a silly costume and go trick-or-treating?

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Flashback Friday | Ex-Cyclones In New Zealand

Today is the Flashback Friday blog hop hosted by Jemima Pett. The idea is to republish an old post of yours that maybe didn't get enough attention, or that you're really proud of, or you think is still relevant etc. We started this blog almost three years ago and have many more followers now then we did back then (thanks all of you!). There may be some of our earlier blog posts that some of you haven't seen before which might be of interest.

I was reminded of this post after prepping for Hurricane Matthew a couple of weeks ago. When we lived and cruised on our old sailboat in New Zealand, we encountered some nasty weather as a result of ex-cyclones (or post-tropical cyclones). New Zealand is considered a safe place to be during cyclone season in the Pacific Ocean, but it can still experience hurricane or tropical force strength winds from systems passing through. 

I found re-reading this post to be interesting on a number of levels. It reminded me of all of the things I miss about living in New Zealand (like the sailing, good friends and Sal's Pizza). I was also struck by the daily log format I used to use more frequently in the blog where I'd recount what we got up to each day. To be honest, I'm not sure how well that format worked in retrospect. I'd be curious to know what you think.

{This post was originally published in April 2014. You can find it here.}

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Red sky in the morning at Westhaven Marina. Cyclone Lusi is on her way.

I have to say that I never really paid much attention to cyclones until this summer. Back in my working days, I knew they happened and I knew they brought bad weather to New Zealand and could really muck up your weekend plans. But until we started cruising full-time this summer, I didn't really appreciate how much cyclones suck. And it isn't just the high winds, the crashing waves and the lack of sleep that they cause. It is the fact that they can mess with your social life and your cruising plans that really gets me.

We had been having a great time up in Northland but knew we needed to get back Auckland in time for the Classic Yacht Regatta that Scott was racing in on the weekend. He was really looking forward to the racing, the rum and catching up with everyone. Poor thing. It got canceled due to Cyclone Lusi. And of course, we got into Auckland before we found out it was canceled. If only we had a magical weather prediction machine - we could have stayed up north. (And we could make a lot of money selling everyone accurate weather forecasts.) Instead, we spent a week in Auckland. And while we really like Auckland, the whole point of this summer was to be out cruising and explore new parts of New Zealand. So disappointing. Damn you wind, damn you.

If you want to learn more about what two people do when a cyclone gets in their way, read on.

This is what Scott wanted to be doing before Cyclone Lusi had her way - seeing the classic yachts racing out in the Hauraki Gulf. 

Monday, 10 March 2014

We left Kawau Island around 9:30 am after resting up from our night passage from Whangaroa. A pleasant sail with an unsuccessful fishing stop in the Motihue Channel. Anchor down in good old Islington Bay around 6:00 pm and the usual spaghetti dinner that we've come to know and love so much this summer. I really need some new recipes.

Tuesday, 11 March 2014

We got into Westhaven Marina around lunchtime and booked in for a week. You get a discount if you stay for a week, so we figured it was worth it to get to Auckland a couple of days before the big regatta to enjoy showers, internet connection, the ability to charge our computers and easy access to the grocery store. Later that evening, once we were all settled in, they canceled the regatta due to Cyclone Lusi. Scott was so disappointed. And all we could think of was that if only we had known this would happen, we could have stayed up in Northland, done some more exploring up there and found a new place to hide out from ex-cyclones, rather than our usual Westhaven Marina experience.

We decided to salvage what was left of the day by going to see All Is Lost with some free movie vouchers we had. Scott had been wanting to see this movie for ages. I've never quite figured out how film releases work in New Zealand. Any movie that I don't want to see usually ends up being released only a few weeks after it comes out in the States. But if there is a movie you do want to see, chances are it won't be released here or it will be released months and months after it has come out on DVD and/or has finished screening in the rest of the world.

We managed to see All Is Lost on the last day it was screening here (months and months after it was first released in the States). And, boy what a waste of time that was. For the second time that day, Scott was majorly disappointed. There is nothing worse then waiting to see a movie only to wish you hadn't. Oh well, at least it was free.

Wednesday, 12 March 2014 

We pretty much did nothing other than hang about in Auckland and eat pizza. Scott wanted to go for a sail before Lusi hit, but to be honest, I was just too darn lazy. 

Thursday, 13 March 2014

Scott told me that it was time for me to stop being a slug as there would be plenty of slug-like days ahead with Lusi coming. So we went out for a sail in the Waitemata Harbour and did some sail training. I got to practice helming while we gybed and tacked, tried to get the boat to obey while going astern, anchored under sail and sailed off the anchor. When we got back to the marina, Scott went out for the Thursday night rum races where he got to sail with people who actually know how to do the stuff that I was practicing earlier in the day. While he was racing, I reverted back to my slug-like state and read. I should have been reading a book about how to sail, but I read a novel instead.

Friday & Saturday, 14-15 March 2014

Boring, boring, boring. Hanging around the boat, listening to the wind howl, not being able to sleep and knowing that you're stuck someplace you don't want to be is boring. That is about all I can say about these couple of days. Well, we did have french toast at the Sitting Duck Cafe in Westhaven one morning. That broke the monotony. Talking about the grilled bananas, the creme fraiche and the rhubarb compote they use killed a couple of hours. It was delicious.

Scott has reminded me that we did have some drama during this period. I had managed to completely block it out of my mind, probably because I might have been responsible. As you can imagine, it was raining cats and dogs. I stupidly went to the computer room with the computer in my backpack. When I got there it did weird things. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it got totally soaked on the way to the computer room? We have this nifty dry bag backpack that you can put stuff in to keep it dry. Why didn't I use it? Who knows. I must have been just too excited to be able to have internet access.

It was a bit a of a fiasco but eventually it started working again after drying out and some sort of magical restore process Scott did. I was impressed, especially as his usual approach to dealing with computer issues is to press on the keys super hard so that the machine really feels your anger and frustration and decides to comply with your wishes. Because that always works. The good news is that, in this case, the computer actually started working again. I've decided to block this back out of my memory. There were some dark hours I would like to forget. Let's not talk about this again.

Sunday, 16 March 2014

This was a great day - I got to spend a few hours at a friend's house pretending I lived on land! She picked me up in her car (not her dinghy), drove me to the supermarket where I didn't have to worry about how I would carry everything back to the boat in my backpack, let me use her washing machine without asking for coins and we ate real food that didn't resemble anything like the pasta dishes I keep making on the boat. Fantastic! I have no idea what Scott did but I'm pretty sure my day was better.

Monday, 17 March 2014

We had to see a guy about a thing so we stuck around Auckland and did some errands. And then we went on a short sail in the afternoon, followed by pizza at our favorite place, Sal's. They import the cheese from Wisconsin. If you haven't been before, there is a reason to go - Wisconsin cheese. And then we re-provisioned at the grocery store to get ready for our great escape the next day. More on the thing with the guy later. 

Overall

Total nautical miles = 50
Number of free loads of laundry = 1
Number of times we ate Sal's pizza = 2
Number of sleepless night thanks to Lusi = 2

Where's the best pizza you've ever eaten? Do you think Wisconsin has the best cheese? Did you see "All Is Lost" - what did you think about it?

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Worldess Wednesday | Williston, North Dakota

Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about posting a photo(s) without any words. But, I'm a rule breaker, so here are a few words:

1- These are some old postcards from Williston, North Dakota. I love the colors.

2 - Do people even send postcards anymore when they're on vacation?

3 -  Scott's from North Dakota. It gets really cold there. You have to be hardy to live in North Dakota. Scott's hardy. Me, not so much. That might explain why we don't live in North Dakota.
 

What words do these picture brings to your mind when you look at them?

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, click here. 

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Around The World In 80 Books | Update #11

I've just finished up another month of the Around the World in 80 Books challenge. The idea of the challenge is to read books set in 80 different countries, effectively exploring the world from the comfort of your armchair. Since my last update, I've read books set in five more countries – Botswana, Ethiopia, Egypt, Liberia and Romania.

That makes a total of 55 books since I started the challenge - only 25 more to go!

You can read more about the challenge here, as well as check out Update #1, Update #2, Update #3, Update #4, Update #5, Update #6, Update #7, Update #8, Update #9 and Update #10.

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THE WOMAN WHO WALKED IN SUNSHINE by Alexander McCall Smith | Botswana

The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine is the 16th in the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency mystery series set in Botswana. I've read a few of the books in the series before and always found them charming and cheerful. This one was no exception. The main character, Mma Precious Ramotswe, is a "traditionally built" lady who opened up the first female owned detective agency in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana. In The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine, Mma Ramotswe takes her first holiday ever, but instead of relaxing, ends up rescuing a troubled boy and getting drawn into a complicated case regarding a potential scandal involving a politician.

The books are fun and easy reads which provide insights into Botswanan culture and observations on everyday life, such as the time Mma Ramotswe decides to sort through her husband's clothes. I could definitely relate to what she experienced.

"There were several shirts that had lost buttons, and she suspected that lurking in his sock drawer were socks that had long since lost their partners and could be thrown away. Men, she thought, were odd about their clothes: they liked to wear the same things until they became defeated and threadbare. For this reason, it was up to wives and girlfriends to weed out the old and outdated. The men would complain, of course, but they did not care enough about clothes to make too much of a fuss, and if you replaced a favorite item with something new, they would very quickly forget about the whole matter."

You can find out more about The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine on Goodreads and pick up a copy on Amazon.


BLACK DOVE, WHITE RAVEN by Elizabeth Wein | Ethiopia

Black Dove, White Raven is a young adult novel about two children, Emily and Teo, whose mothers flew a stunt plane together n the 1930s. A bird strike cause the plane to crash, killing Teo's mother, but sparing Emily's mother, Rhoda. Rhoda decides to take the children to Ethiopia where her now-adopted son, Teo, can be raised alongside her white daughter in a land where they won't face discrimination. At first things go well in their new land, but when war with Italy looms, both Emily and Teo get drawn into the conflict.

The book is fascinating not only for its exploration of themes involving aviation and friendship, but also for the depiction of Ethiopian culture including the Ethiopian Church which dates back to the first century.

"People get more dressed up for Timkat than for anything else in the whole year. The priests are in velvet and silk robes embroidered with gold, and tiered silver crowns that look like wedding cakes, and everybody yodels and shakes bells and beats drums, and there are musicians in white shammas with big red stripes around the hem. The priests from the village church, Beta Markos, carry their copies of the sacred tabot around town for everyone to admire (even though you can’t actually see it, because it’s all wrapped up in silk), and then they take it up to the St. Kristos Samra hermitage on Beehive Hill, because there is an extremely weedy pool cut in the rock there, which they use to re-enact Christ’s baptism in the Jordan River."

You can find out more about Black Dove, White Raven on Goodreads and pick up a copy on Amazon.


THE CURSE OF THE PHARAOHS by Elizabeth Peters (aka Barbara Mertz) | Egypt

The Curse of the Pharaohs is the second in the Amelia Peabody historical mystery series. It takes place during an archaeological excavation in the late 1800s at a tomb in the Valley of the Kings that Amelia Peabody's husband, Emerson, had been hired to lead. I was interested in reading The Curse of the Pharaohs for two reasons: (1) I've been to the Valley of the Kings and (2) Scott's an archaeologist and I thought it would be fun to read about early Egyptian excavations. Amelia Peabody is the kind of amateur detective I like - independent, feisty, intelligent and fearless. The book is written in the first person which I think works well as you really get to see things through her eyes as a woman in the Victorian era, as well as her sometimes sarcastic take on people and events.

"As our patient beasts plodded across the sand, I allowed Emerson to remain a few feet ahead, a position he much enjoys and seldom obtains. I could see by the arrogant set of his shoulders that he fancied himself in the role of gallant commander, leading his troops; and I saw no reason to point out that no man can possibly look impressive on donkey-back, particularly when his legs are so long he must hold them out at a forty-five-degree angle to keep his feet from dragging on the ground."

You can find out more about The Curse of the Pharaohs on Goodreads and pick up a copy on Amazon.


ECLIPSED by Danai Gurira | Liberia

One of the things I wanted to do as part of this challenge was to read things I wouldn't normally read. When I saw that Eclipsed was available at my library, I knew it would be perfect for this  challenge - not only did it tick Liberia off of the list, it was also a script for a play. I think the last time I read a play was in high school. Reading a play is so different than reading a novel. I found that I needed to read slowly and almost say the lines out loud to really get the full impact.

Eclipsed is a play set in 2003 during the Second Liberian Civil War. It focuses on five women - two who were kidnapped and forced to be the “wives” (aka sex slaves) of the Commanding Officer, a 15 year old girl who they try to protect from the Commanding Officer, a female soldier who tries to persuade the girl to join the army and an upper-class, well-educated member of the Liberian Women’s Initiative. Eclipsed was the first play with an all black and an all female creative cast and team to premiere on Broadway . The play highlights the atrocities that occurred during the civil war and the horrendous toll it took on women. In this passage, Helena describes how the Commanding Officer has cursed himself by killing mothers and children.

"HELENA: He saying de food it taste funny and he tink someone or some spirit trying to kill him. He put a curse on hisself. How God gonna bless a man when he killin moda an chile and stealin and chopping. Den he wonda why he scared of spirits. He want me to make more food and to put dis in it (She holds up a small pouch.) He really scare coz o de people comin."

You can find out more about Eclipsed in this New York Times article.


I AM FORBIDDEN by Anouk Markovits | Transylvania (Romania)

I am Forbidden opens in Transylvania (present-day Romania) in the late 1930s where a young Jewish boy, Josef, sees his family killed by the Romanian Iron Guard. His family's maid, a Christian, raises Josef as her own, hiding his Jewish faith so that he isn't a target of the Iron Guard. A few years later, Josef rescues Mila, a young Jewish girl whose parents were killed when they tried to escape Romania. Josef helps Mila find refuge with another Jewish family, where she is raised alongside their daughter, Atara, as Hasidic Jews in Paris. As they grow up, one of the girls chooses to marry within her faith, while the other one questions the restrictions placed on her and eventually leaves the Hasidic community.  

I am Forbidden was an interesting way to learn more about the persecution Jews faced in Romania, the traditions and beliefs of Hasidism and the consequences that can arise from the difficult choices people make when it comes to their religious beliefs. 

"Summer, a fence was erected behind the shrine, along the tracks skirting the horse meadow. On this side of the fence was Romania; on the other side was Hungary. One this side of the fence, men started to wear the armband of the Legion of the Archangel Michael, the Iron Guard."

You can find out more about I am Forbidden on Goodreads and pick up a copy on Amazon.

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If you're participating in the challenge too, I'd love to hear what you've been reading. Even if you're not doing the challenge, let us know what books you've been enjoying lately.

COUNTRIES READ TO DATE: Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, the Bahamas, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, China, Cuba, Czech Republic, Djibouti, England, Estonia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Haiti, Iceland, India, Iran, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mexico, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Paraguay, Republic of Kiribati, Romania, Russia, Samoa, Saudi Arabia,  Scotland, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, United States, Vanuatu, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.

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Things That Go Bump In The Night

After two sleepless nights, I was looking forward to a quiet, restful sleep. The first night I had been woken up at midnight due to a boat coming into the slip next to me, followed by a tree frog running loose inside my boat. The following night was when Hurricane Matthew was threatening to make landfall nearby. Sleep is pretty much impossible when you're waiting for massive destruction to take place.

After all of that drama, I tucked myself in bed early, read for a while and drifted off to sleep. I was having a really pleasant dream about kittens and unicorns frolicking in a meadow dotted with colorful wildflowers. It was a great dream. Then the kittens started hissing and scurrying for cover. The unicorns started panicking and making a screeching sort of neighing sound.

I looked around and saw the cause of their distress - a giant spacecraft with bright shining lights had just landed in the meadow and was about to abduct the kittens and unicorns and conduct all sorts of horrifying experiments. Did you ever wonder why you hardly see any unicorns around these days? Yes, that's right, the aliens rounded them up and took them back to perform in what passes for rodeo shows in their galaxy.

Suddenly, I realized I wasn't dreaming. I woke up to see bright lights shining through the windows in my aft cabin. Now I was starting to panic. The aliens weren't coming for the kittens and unicorns. They were coming for me!

I quickly opened the companionway and looked out just in time to see a car crash into the power pedestal right next to my boat.

And by right next to my boat, I mean right <<insert naughty word of your choice here>> next to my boat.

Here, let me show you what I mean.

I screamed some very naughty words at this point.

A man got out of the car and seemed totally unfazed by what had happened. I asked him if he was all right. He said he was fine, but the way he was moving and talking made me think that perhaps he wasn't fine and shouldn't be driving. I couldn't be sure if he was drunk or on drugs and I got a really bad feeling about things.

He moved very slowly to inspect his car and asked me if I wanted to come check things out. I declined. The last thing I wanted to do was get close to this nutter-butter, so I stayed on my boat.

I asked him what he was doing down by my boat and he told me he was lost and trying to find his way out. This was weird on so many levels.

There's a grassy area near my boat that has a little workshop area. Cars sometimes park there when they're unloading stuff. It's also a good place to lay out your sails. There's a track which goes up to the point overlooking the canal. Normally, it would be pretty straightforward to drive your car there.

But these weren't normal times. There were boats stored on the hard in the parking lot in preparation for Hurricane Matthew which made it difficult to see that you could drive into there. There was also a lot of equipment and wood blocks near the grassy area which created a bit of an obstacle course to drive through. Somehow, this guy managed it.

I suggested that he contact the marina in the morning in case there was any damage. He told me that he wasn't worried as his fender was indestructible. Not exactly what I meant. Then he drove off.

Somehow, I had the presence of mind to memorize his license plate number. Which is truly astonishing as I can barely remember my cell phone number. I went back down below, noted the time (2:45 AM), wrote down the license plate number, tried to calm down and was trying to decide what to do when I saw more lights.

Great. The lunatic was back. I grabbed my phone so I could call 911 when I noticed that it was one of the sheriff's deputies on routine patrol. Phew! I waved him over, told him what happened and gave him the license plate number.

The next day, I told the marina staff what happened and they came down to check out the damage. I later heard through the grapevine that there had been some guy who got really drunk at the bar that night and was picked up by the sheriff's deputy after his escapade at the marina.

I used to complain about the turtles who always bang against the hull of my boat during the night, but I'll take their little bumps in the night anytime over someone almost crashing into my boat.

Have you ever had someone nearly crash into you or your home? What would you have done in this situation?

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Wordless Wednesday | Paul Bunyan

 

Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about posting a photo(s) without any words. But, I'm a rule breaker, so here are a few words:

1 - I used to love reading about Paul Bunyan when I was a child. I especially loved the descriptions of the gigantic flapjacks he ate for breakfast.

2 - In the States, flapjacks are pancakes. In Scotland, they're these delicious bar cookies made with oats and golden syrup. 

3 - When I lived in Scotland I used to buy tubs of flapjack mini-bites at Marks & Spencer. It was hard not to eat them all in one sitting.  

4 - I wonder what happened to Paul's feet in the second photo?


What words does this picture bring to your mind when you look at it?

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, click here. 

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Hurricane Matthew Prep & An Annoying Tree Frog

One of the things you do when you live on a boat in southern Florida is to check out the National Hurricane Center forecast on a regular basis. I'd been keeping my eye on Matthew ever since he was a wee baby in the Atlantic Ocean. At first he seemed like a sweet, little boy. Maybe a little fussy, but nothing too serious Then he grew up, turned into a monster and started making his way up through the Caribbean and Bahamas with his sights set on the east coast of the States.

It became clear as the days went by that we were in the cone. Unfortunately, this isn't the kind of cone that's filled with chocolate ice cream. This is the kind of cone that's chock full of nastiness which can leave devastating destruction and loss of life in its path.

Indiantown Marina, where I live on our Moody 346 sailboat, Tickety Boo, is considered to be a hurricane hole. It lies in a protected area inland about halfway between Stuart and Lake Okeechobee. Because the marina is situated off of the St Lucie Canal behind a lock, it's protected from storm surge. If you've seen the pictures of the flooding that Matthew has caused or pictures of boats washed up on shore, you'll know how devastating storm surge can be.

In the days leading up to Hurricane Matthew's arrival, boats started heading into the marina from the coast to hide out. Many of the boats, especially the super expensive ones, are members of the Hurricane Club. For an annual fee of $250, they get priority when it comes to being hauled out in the event of a hurricane. (They still have to pay the standard haul out and storage fees on top of the Hurricane Club membership fee.) The parking lot basically became a boat storage yard. Even if I had wanted to get hauled out, I wouldn't have been able to as so many Hurricane Club boats made their way to Indiantown.

While the ladies in the office and the Travelift crew were working overtime to get everyone situated, I was busy prepping Tickety Boo for the hurricane. While we would be protected from storm surge here, the winds were forecast to be brutal. This meant I needed to remove as much windage from the boat as possible (i.e., anything the wind could grab a hold of) and making sure she was securely tied up in her slip.

Fortunately, the sails and anchors had already been stored away, so my focus was on doubling up my lines where possible, adding fancy chafe protection in the form of duct-taped towels to the lines, getting everything out of the cockpit, taking down my American flag and removing the sun shade and canvas.
 
Everything went smoothly until I tried to take down the canvas. The term "canvas" is shorthand for the dodger, bimini and connector piece which provide cover over a boat's cockpit. Here's what ours looks like on Tickety Boo. The previous owners had it made in Grenada and it's in relatively good shape. Or so I thought.

When I went to unzip the dodger from the bimini, I found that the zippers were seized up and I couldn't get then to budge. I was starting to have a minor meltdown when my friends Matt and Jessica popped by to check in. Perfect timing! Matt is a life saver. He dismantled the frame and we managed to fold and tie down the dodger and bimini. Not an ideal solution, but the best that could be done in the time we had to get ready for Matthew.

In the process, I ended up ripping part of the canvas off of a track while we were taking it off and some of the snaps broke. I needed to do some repair to the canvas anyway, so once I can get the zippers off (thanks to everyone for the great tips on how to do this on our Facebook page), I'll start in on this sewing project on my Sailrite.

Once Tickety Boo was all squared away, I made sure that I had enough food to last me for days in case we lost power. I also filled up my tanks and jerry cans so that I would have drinking and  washing-up water.

After I was as set as I could be, I joined Matt and Jessica on the patio to chill out with a beer or two while we waited for our friends, Michele and Bruce, to make their way from Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart to Indiantown. While we were there, Matt and Jessica made a video on their hurricane prep for their new You Tube channel.

After Michele and Bruce got situated, we all went out for a "last supper" at the local Guatemalan/Mexican restaurant. We savored every bite, not knowing if it might be our last hot meal for awhile. I tried to get to sleep early knowing that I would probably be up all of the following night with the hurricane.

At one point, I started dreaming that my boat had been boarded by pirates in search of treasure. After a while, I realized it wasn't a dream. People were actually on my boat. I dashed up top to find a boat trying to get into the slip next to me in the middle of the night.

We had been told that two boats would be coming into the two empty slips next to me, but when they didn't show up that night, all of the nearby boats tied off to the piling between the slips. When a hurricane is coming, the more lines you can have securing your boat, creating a sort of spider web,  the better. You can see the piling in this picture, along with a very expensive fishing boat in the slip across the way.

Because we had lines blocking off the slip the boat was trying to get into, someone had boarded my boat to release it. I joined in the midnight fun and we all pitched in and ended up getting the boat settled into her slip. I'm amazed that this guy was able to maneuver into the slip without hitting me or the fishing boat.

I trundled back to bed, desperate to get some shut-eye. Just as I was drifting off to sleep, I started to hear noises. Not the usual noise of the turtles banging against my hull, but a strange noise inside the main cabin. I searched and searched and searched to try to figure out what it was, but no luck. As I tried to fall back asleep, I heard it again, right next to me. I turned on the light and there was the culprit - a tree frog. I guess he was just trying to find a safe place to hide out from the hurricane too. Eventually, I managed to trap him and escort him outside. By this time the sun was coming up and Matthew was heading our way that evening. Oh well, sleep is overrated.

That morning, I did a few last minute things like remove the portable A/C unit, unplug from shore power, turn off the fridge and wait. Waiting is the worst part. We've been through some serious weather on our boat in New Zealand, like ex-cyclone Lusi and ex-cyclone June, but this had the potential to be much worse.

Thanks goodness for books. I read and snacked all day and waited. Then I read and snacked some more in the evening and waited. I would turn on my cell phone every couple of hours to get the latest track from the National Hurricane Center and the wind forecast and wait some more.

While I was waiting, one of the things I fretted about was that the boats parked directly behind my boat would come tumbling down and smash into Tickety Boo.

 
Turns out I waited for nothing. We ended up being incredibly fortunate in our neck of the woods. Hurricane Matthew tracked eastwards over the water and didn't make landfall near Stuart/West Palm as we had feared. We had some gusty winds, but nothing too serious. Sadly, that wasn't the case for so many people elsewhere.

Everyone got up the next morning, had a walk about to check things out and breathed a huge sigh of relief. I spent the day chilling out and counting my blessings.

What do you do to distract yourself when you're nervously waiting for something to happen? Have you ever experienced a hurricane or other scary weather event?

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Asking People To Critique Your Writing | Critique Circle

Do you remember that scary button I pressed a few weeks ago asking complete strangers to critique a short story I wrote?

There are a number of online critique groups such as Critters Workshop and Writing.Com. The one I tried out was Critique Circle. I broke out into a cold sweat when I pressed the submit button, but it turns out the experience wasn't that scary after all.

Critique Circle operates on a credit system. For every critique you do of other people's stories, you earn credits. If you want to submit one of your own stories for critique, you have to pay a certain amount of credits. Your story is live in the critique queue for a week. After that it's archived where people can continue to critique it for a reduced amount of credits.

As a new member, you can jump the waiting line and submit your story directly into the newbie queue. However, you can only get a maximum of five critiques. People that post in other queues get an unlimited number of critiques. To be honest, five critiques sounded like plenty to me. Although, for a while, I wasn't sure if five people were actually going to critique my story. Turns out everyone else is pressure prompted like me and did their critiques at the last minute.

The critiques I received were extremely helpful and supportive with lots of useful feedback from catching typos, pointing out my overuse of adverbs, highlighting areas that were confusing, making suggestions about modifying or removing scenes, bolstering my confidence by telling me the premise of my story was intriguing etc. I suspect folks probably go easier on new members.

The system is really user friendly from posting your story to reviewing your critiques. I was able to print all of my critiques together, inline with the text, so that I could compare what different people picked up on in different parts of my story.

After making a number of changes based upon the feedback of these kind strangers, I then decided to press yet another scary button and send my short story to some wonderful bloggy friends who offered to act as beta readers. (Beta readers are essentially non-professionals who "test drive" your manuscript.)

Perhaps I'll do another post at some point on the beta reader process and the guidelines I put together. If that would be of interest to folks, let me know in the comments. In the meantime, let me do a shout-out to those lovely ladies - Liesbet from Roaming About, Melissa from Little Cunning Plan and Lucy from The Larks of Independence. Thank you so much - your feedback was so helpful!

Now the big question is do I push an even scarier button and submit my story to the Insecure Writer's Support Group anthology contest once I've revised it yet again?

Have you ever entered a contest? Did you win anything? If so, what was it?

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Wordless Wednesday | Boats & Hurricane Matthew

Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about posting a photo(s) without any words. But, I'm a rule breaker, so here are a few words:

1 - After Hurricane Matthew, a number of people contacted me to check up on their boats that are in storage at Indiantown Marina. It must be so worrying to wonder if your boat is going to survive a hurricane when you're miles away. All the boats here seem to be fine. Unfortunately, that's not the case for people who have boats elsewhere.

2 - I thought I'd share some of the pictures I took because pictures of boats are fun! Boats come in all shapes, sizes and colors, just like people.

3 - I can't figure out why some of the boats in storage hardly seem to have any mold and mildew on the outside while mine seems to be covered in the stuff just a few days after I wash it.


What words do these pictures bring to your mind when you look at it?

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, click here. 

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Moms Are Swell & Hurricane Matthew Update

For those of you who don't follow us on Facebook, I thought I would do a quick Hurricane Matthew update here to let you know that all is well at Indiantown Marina. We were lucky that Matthew tracked further east than forecast and didn't make landfall near the West Palm Beach/Stuart area which would have impacted us in Indiantown. We really dodged a bullet. I'll do a full update on Friday about hurricane prep for our boat and how it all went during the storm. Probably the worst thing that happened involved a tree frog. Tune back in on Friday to find out more.

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My mom is swell. I bet your mom is (was) too.

That’s a picture of my mom holding me not long after she gave birth to me. I can’t believe she got into that tiny dress so soon after childbirth. She told me that she traded in her two-seater sports car for the VW Bug you see in the picture so that she’d have room to cart me around. I guess VW Bugs were the 60s answer to today’s soccer moms’ minivans.

My mom has a milestone birthday this week and I’m not there to celebrate with her so I thought I would dedicate today’s blog post to sharing just a few of the reasons why she's so swell.

• She taught me the difference between asking, “Can I have a cookie?” and “May I have a cookie?” The answer to both questions is yes, but only the second one will land you with an actual cookie. It has to do with ability (being able to open the cookie jar and grab a cookie) vs. permission (making sure your mom will let you have another cookie so close to supper time). I think if she were ever to get a tattoo, it would be of the Oxford comma.

• She instilled a love of reading in me. My sister and I were encouraged to read anything and everything and outings to the library were a regular occurrence growing up.

• Although she’s allergic to eggs, she would still make scrambled eggs for us despite the fact that her eyes would swell up and get itchy from the egg fumes coming up from the pan. On a related note, she’s never had a chocolate chip cookie in her entire life due to the whole egg allergy thing. Wow. I can’t quite imagine life without cookies. Can you?

• She ignored the fact that we fed the cat vegetables under the table. That cat would even eat lima beans which was a good thing because lima beans are disgusting. Hmm. Maybe she never knew about the whole lima bean eating cat thing. Oops. I guess she does now.

• She put up with me during my teenage years. Honestly, how do parents survive teenage girls? 

• She taught me to be independent and self-confident. She instilled important values in me including valuing diversity, standing up to intolerance and social responsibility for those who are less fortunate.

• She's got a great sense of humor.  

•  She supports me in anything I want to do, even crazy things like live on a sailboat.

What's your favorite memory growing up? Did you have swell mom or other swell female figure who was there for you when you were growing up? What made her swell?

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Cost Of Living Aboard Tickety Boo | August & September 2016

It’s time for our regular cost of living update, which I do every two months. We've been tracking how much it costs to live aboard our Moody 346 sailboat, S/V Tickety Boo, at Indiantown Marina in southern Florida, where we were initially laid up during last hurricane season and where I'm now living while Scott is working overseas. While Scott has been in Scotland, I've been staying on our boat and slowly ticking things off of our project list. So, our live aboard costs are pretty much just that - cost of my daily living aboard our boat and occasionally buying stuff for Tickety Boo to keep her happy.

You can find links to other cost updates from ourselves and others on this page, as well as on The Monkey's Fist. If you want to know how much we spent over the past two months, have a look below.


Cost of Living Aboard | August & September 2016

Overall, we spent $2,441 during August and September which is down $718 from the previous two months. I haven't really been buying anything for the boat lately which has really helped keep expenditure to a minimum.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty details of what we spent, here are a few things to note:

1 - All costs are in US dollars.

2 - Not all expenses are included - here's what we've left out:

(a) We don't report how much we spend on alcohol. I remember reading some horrible, judgy comments in a blog post a few years back about how much someone spent on booze, so I left it out when we first started tracking our cruising costs back in New Zealand. For consistency's sake, I've continued to leave it out when tracking our cruising and RV costs.

(b) We haven't included costs related to storing our Scamp travel trailer ($21 per month) because we track the cost of our RV and cruising adventures separately.

(c) We've also left out our costs for medical insurance. We didn't think it made sense to include insurance costs as they can vary so widely depending upon your nationality, where you cruise, what level of coverage you want and can afford etc. In case you are curious, while we're back in the States, we do have insurance through the health insurance marketplace (aka ACA/Obamacare), primarily to protect our assets and cover us in case of a catastrophic medical condition. After spending a pretty big chunk of change for health insurance during 2015, we were in a bit of a quandary about whether we should go ahead and get coverage for 2016 or take the risk and pay the tax penalty for being uninsured. In the end, after weighing up the potential tax penalty, possible tax credits and risk of being uninsured, we ended up getting insurance for 2016. If you want to know more about our health insurance options and quandary for 2016, check this post out.

3 - Scott has been in Scotland taking care of some work projects and tending to some other matters, so grocery and entertainment costs are less than they would be normally.

4 - I've included any shipping and taxes we've paid in what we report. Florida has a 6% sales tax. Boo.


GROCERIES | Total = $417.19

This category includes everything we put in our bodies in terms of food and drink (excluding booze) that we prepare ourselves. It doesn't include things like paper towels and ziploc bags, which I know some people would classify as groceries. Sure, you could probably eat them, but they wouldn't taste very good.


PERSONAL & HOUSEHOLD | Total = $51.09

This is the category where we include household things (like paper towels and ziploc bags) and personal hygiene items (like soap and shampoo). We also capture items for the "home" here - like bug spray.


ENTERTAINMENT | Total = $78.29

One of the great things about hanging out in Indiantown is that there really isn't all that much to spend your entertainment dollars on. It's a pretty small town and things are really quiet at the marina, so there's not a lot of temptation.

In terms of drinks and eating out, this includes everything we don't prepare ourselves, even if we get something to go and eat it back on the boat. We also track how much we spend on Amazon Prime (for streaming video), books, magazines, movies, colored pencils and coloring books etc. in this category, as well as the occasional lottery ticket.


COMMUNICATIONS | Total = $140.00

Our cell phone is actually one of our biggest non-boat related expenses. I have a $60 monthly GoPhone plan with AT&T which includes 6GB of data and unlimited calls and texts. While Scott is away, I've also added on a $10 monthly international call plan so that we can have our daily phone call.


BOAT FUEL | Total = Nil

Because our boat hasn't left the slip, we haven't needed to spend anything on diesel or gas.


LPG | Total = Nil

I've been primarily using our microwave, an electric burner and crock pot for cooking, so haven't needed to top up the LPG tanks. Electricity is included in the slip fee so it makes sense to use that for cooking.


MARINA COSTS | Total = $1,166.00

Keeping Tickety Boo in a slip is one of our biggest expenses. The monthly cost of a slip with electricity at Indiantown Marina for a 34.5' boat is $572.40. The guys at the marina will also come pump out our holding tank on demand - $5.30 for each visit.


BOAT STUFF | Total = Nil

This category is for all the stuff we've been buying for the boat. We've got a long list of stuff we need to get for Tickety Boo - some upgrades, some maintenance related items, equipment etc. I haven't been working on many boat projects lately so there has been zero spend in this category during the past two months.


TRANSPORT | Total = $51.07

This category is for costs related to our vehicle, mostly for gas to keep it going and drive into the nearby "big city" of Stuart for errands. Gas is so cheap these days that I've really been able to keep these costs down. Beside filling up the tank with gas, I got the oil changed.


MEDICAL EXPENSES | Total = Nil

This category includes medical expenses outside of our monthly insurance premium (which aren't included here - see section on exclusions above), like over the counter medications, prescriptions and things for our medical kit. It also includes the costs of doctors visits and medical tests which aren't covered by our insurance. I didn't spend anything over the past two months but I'm still expecting some rather large medical bills to come due from way back in March. Who knew processing insurance claims could take so long.


OTHER | Total = $528.60

In this category, we break out how much we spend on clothes and travel expenses. We also include a catch-all miscellaneous group for stuff that doesn't fit neatly anywhere else - things like laundry ($3.25 for a wash and dry at Indiantown Marina).

The big expense over the past two months was for a plane ticket to visit my family in Portland in November. I also picked up some clothes on sale including a skort (skorts are fun!) and a bathing suit.

Do you budget and/or track your expenses? If so, do you find it helps you manage your money better?

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Knowing When Your Story Is Ready | IWSG

The Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) is a place to share and encourage, where writers can express their doubts and concerns without appearing foolish or weak. It's a great place to mingle with like minded people each month during IWSG day.

Every month there is a question which may prompt folks to share advice, insights, a personal experience or story. Some folks answer the question in their IWSG blog post or let it inspire them if they're struggling with what to say.

This month's question prompt is:

"How do you know when your story is ready?"

Check out how people have answered this month's question, as well as the other insecurities and writing topics they may have shared by visiting the IWSG sign-up list here. If you want to know how I answered the question, have a read below.

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Image courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

I laughed out loud when I read this month’s question. Not the kind of mean spirited laugh a bully makes right before he pushes you to the ground and steals your lunch money. It was the kind of nervous laugh you make when you have no idea what the right answer is. You could hear me laughing this particular laugh often during physics exams in high school.

Remember how I enlisted a crack team of researchers from MIT to help me answer last month’s question? Well, this month, the crew at the Better Homes & Gardens test kitchen came to the rescue.

There I was, laughing nervously away to myself, when one of them walked over, patted me on the shoulder, handed me a triple chocolate brownie and said, “Now don’t you worry, honey bunch. We’ll help you answer that question. It sure is a tricky one, isn’t it.” She smoothed her apron, got down some flour from the cupboard and added, “But first, let’s bake some bread.”

Don’t you just love bread fresh out of the oven? I sighed as I thought about the smell of freshly baked bread.

“We don’t have time for daydreaming,” she said, interrupting my thoughts of warm bread slathered in butter. She handed me an apron to wear. “Here, put this on. Now, the first thing we need is to get out our cookbook and find the recipe. You do that when you write a story, don’t you? Make sure you’ve got a recipe to work from. I think you call them plots?”

“Yes, ma'am, that’s the first thing I do before I start writing. Think through my plot. Well, most of the time. Sometimes, I just dive in.”

She made a tsk tsk sound as she peered at me over her glasses. “We’re more organized than that here at the test kitchen. Why don't you make sure we have all the ingredients we need,” she said as she handed me the cookbook.

As I gathered up yeast,butter, honey and salt, I thought about the ingredients involved in writing a story such as characters, settings, conflict and dialogue.

“Okay, put those down here on the counter and let’s work some magic.” Her eyes sparkled as she mixed all of the ingredients together forming a sticky dough.

“Are we ready to put it in the oven?” I asked.

“Of course not, you silly goose. We've got to knead the dough. Kind of like when you do revisions to your manuscript, isn’t it? Making bread take effort. You can’t just slap some ingredients together and call it done. Same thing with writing. Just because you write a first draft doesn't mean your story is ready.”

I watched as she kneaded the dough, adding flour from time to time to keep it from sticking to the granite counter top. "Why don't you give it a try," she said.

"Wow, this is hard work," I said as my arms started to ache.

She made that tsk tsk sound again. "Of course it's hard work. You didn't expect to have a perfect loaf of bread without any hard work, did you? Okay, that's enough. Now, let's have a pot of tea while we let the dough rise. Just like when you're writing a story. Sometimes, you have to put it aside for while before you start working on it again."

After a lovely cup of Earl Gray tea and a few more of those triple chocolate brownies, I was ready for a nap.

I felt someone shake me by the shoulder. "No sleeping on the job here, sugar plum. Time to get back to work."

"Is it ready yet?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

"No. Now we have to bake it and watch that dough turn into the perfect loaf of bread. Like when you edit and polish a story. It might take a while, but you'll be glad you took the time," she said as she put the loaf in the oven.

I made an excuse that I needed to use the ladies room and had a quick nap in the pantry while the bread was baking. When I got back to the kitchen I could smell the the heavenly scent of bread wafting out of the oven.

"There you are. I wondered what happened. Did you get lost finding your way back to the test kitchen?" she asked.

"Yes, that's exactly what happened," I said averting my eyes so I wouldn't be caught out for fibbing.  "I found myself in a room where there were a bunch of people making holiday wreaths from pipe cleaners and orange juice containers."

"Well, you're here now and just in time," she said as she pulled a loaf of bread out of the oven. She tapped on the golden crust. "Do you hear that hollow sound? That means it's ready."

I reached out to tear some off but she slapped my hand away. "You have to let it cool first. When you finish writing a story and you know that it's finally ready, you should take a few moments to admire your work. We're going to do the same thing with this here loaf of bread."

She got a couple of china plates out from the cupboard and set them next to a butter dish. "There, you should be proud of yourself. It takes time and patience to bake bread, but in the end it's worth it."

I'm not a very patient sort of person. I like things to be finished right away. I find it hard to take the time to make sure a story is really ready before I call it quits. How about you - when do you know that your story or other project you might be working on is ready?

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September In Numbers

Clockwise from upper left: (1) I love my crockpot; (2) Pretending to be an auto mechanic again; (3) IPAs imported from Georgia; (4) I've got paper dragonflies decorating my boat; (5) Spotting a Moody sailboat at Sunset Bay Marina and (6) Playing dominoes is a blast;

Here’s the usual recap of the month in numbers – an assortment of odd tidbits and random thoughts that popped into my head when I was reflecting back on the month.

• 3 – Remember how I had that streak of 31 days without any sugary treats in August? Well, I broke down in spectacular fashion at a Labor Day barbecue at Sunset Bay Marina, where some friends keep their boat. Not only did I have dessert, I had three desserts! A brownie, a slice of apple pie and a very large piece of chocolate cake. Now I know what was missing from my life. 

• 2  – Number of new recipes I tried last month. I made Hawaiian inspired Hula Chicken in my crockpot. The recipe calls for 1-2 tablespoons or Sriracha sauce. I went with the maximum and then added more. More is always better when it comes to Sriracha sauce, isn’t it? I also tried out a ham coleslaw salad from the Boat Galley Cookbook to bring with me to a potluck. We all decided it was good, but could use a bit of vinegar in the dressing.

• 5 – Number of critiques I got on a short story from some very helpful folks at the Critique Circle. It was a scary process, but very constructive and useful.

• 3 - The number of belts I have in my Nissan Pathfinder. I know because I inspected them the other day for wear and tear.

• 3,000 – Karen Eriksen emailed me to tell me about a sailing novella she recently wrote, Rally Crossroads, which describes the annual Atlantic Rally Crossing (ARC) where hundreds of boats sail nearly 3,000 miles from the Canary Islands off of the coat of Africa to the Caribbean. It's a trip that she and her family have completed. It sounds like a great read.

• 2 – Number of books I bought last month. I don't normally buy a lot of books, preferring to check things out of the library or get them from the book exchange at our marina. But I did pick up a couple written by people involved with the Insecure Writer's Support Group - Diane Burton’s novella, Mission to Earth (sci-fi mixed with some good old fashioned romance – you can’t beat it), and Elizabeth Spann Craig’s latest cozy mystery, Cruising for Murder, featuring a highly entertaining octogenarian sleuth.

• $15.97 - How much I spent on a box of beer. Not just any beer. No, these were some of the finest IPAs that Georgia has to offer. I've never been to Georgia. Now I realize what I've been missing. It came out to only $1.33 a bottle which seemed reasonable for all of that hoppy delightfulness. 

• 30 - Number of days in my free Scrivener trial. Scrivener is software designed with writers in mind. I downloaded it at the end of September and have been playing around with it. Now I just have to decide if it's worth $40 before the trial period ends.

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

Tired of Politics? Talk Controversial Boat Stuff Instead
Eek, I Pressed a Very Scary Button!
Morning Coffee | Random Thoughts & Oddities


How was your September? What are you looking forward to in October?

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