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| Clockwise from upper left corner: (1) Changing over to LED light bulbs; (2) Picking Scott up at the airport; (3) One last glimpse of our old cottage in Scotland; (4) Finally got our engine to work; (5) Cute ship made out of seashells; and (6) Sunset at Anna Maria Island. |
It's time for the monthly recap in numbers - an assortment of odd tidbits and random thoughts that popped into my head when I was reflecting back on the month.
- 7 - How many days we spent on Anna Maria Island on the Gulf Coast of Florida. It was so nice to be off the boat for a while and stay in a cottage with luxuries like a shower, a full kitchen with plenty of space to cook in, a freezer and a TV. Living on a boat sure does make you appreciate life in a proper house.
- $131 - How much we spent on gas during December. I usually average less than $30 a month, so this was a big increase, due in part to picking up Scott in Orlando and driving out to the Gulf Coast.
- 3 - How many days I was sick at the end of the month with a bad cold. I was pretty much useless when it came to boat projects. Thank goodness Scott cheerfully carried on with them while I stayed in bed.
- 8:00 PM - What time I went to bed on New Year's Eve. Staying up to midnight used to be such a big deal when I was younger. These days, not so much.
- $11.26 - How much two matinee tickets to Rogue One cost. I loved it. Scott thought it was so-so.
- 4 - The number of glow plugs on our Thornycroft engine. Problems with our glow plugs were one of the reasons why the engine wouldn't work.
- 6 - How many volts the electrical system on our boat is. To be precise, it's a 6 volt positive ground system, which is unusual. You usually find negative ground systems. Don't ask me to explain what any of this means. All I know is that it's important to know this. Don't ask me why it's important to know this. Ask me about Rogue One instead. A much more interesting topic.
- $1 - How much a Mega Millions lottery ticket costs. We didn't win. Bummer.
- $67 - How much Scott spent on clothes. This may not sound like a big deal, but getting Scott to go shopping for clothes is incredibly difficult and excruciating for all concerned. Taking Scott shopping for anything is excruciating. If Walmart was clever, they'd have a bar at the store entrance where you could drop off your husband. He'd have a beer or two while you're shopping and be in a much better mood than if he had to trail behind you pushing the shopping cart.
In case you missed them, here are some of our favorite posts from last month:
Cost of Living Aboard Our Boat | October & November 2016
Finding a Wee Beastie in the Eggs
Making Lists
How was your December? What are you looking forward to in January and the rest of 2017?
Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - pop by and say hi!
The men and shopping problem is two fold: first the shopping, and then the spilling of oil down new shirt. (because the oil project wasn't supposed to be dirty) We like to have guests over after sunset and refuse to turn on lights so they can't see our dirty boat, dirty hair, and dirty clothes!
ReplyDeleteI showed this to Scott and he laughed :-) New clothes rarely retain their stain free existence for more than an hour or two on our boat.
DeleteI'm ready for some good weather so we can boat again in comfort. It's mighty cold right now. I'm guessing another six weeks or so and the weather will be heading rapidly toward spring.
ReplyDeleteI can relate with the boat versus home. We so enjoy our boat, but to come home to a huge shower, and lots of room really is nice.
Have a fabulous day. ☺
I bet you guys miss sitting out on your boat. Hopefully you get a warm spell soon.
DeleteYour beach adventure sounds like such a treat. I would not say I'm exactly looking forward to January per se, but I would say I'm looking forward to the results of getting the old body back into a semblance of a routine with food and exercise. It's so cold we don't want to get off the boat. But man, we already need to get off the boat.
ReplyDeleteUgh - exercise. I need to do more of that. Instead of having the problem that it's too cold to get off of the boat, I have the opposite - it's too hot to leave the air conditioning.
DeletePretty Scottish cottage!
ReplyDeleteThanks! It was a great little piece of property.
DeleteFor January, I'm looking forward to going through the piles of junk we have stored at my mom's house and getting rid of half of it the minute David's not looking (the poor man's a pack-rat and keeps everything)but I'd rather be sailing!
ReplyDeleteStephanie @ SV CAMBRIA
I bet he won't even miss what you get rid of. :-)
DeleteI'm glad you are feeling better, Ellen! Scott's clothes shopping behavior sounds similar to Mark's! But, my husband was very excited when he found two ugly sweaters on sale for $10 when walking in a town one day. I stupidly washed one of them with our brand new white Wirie T-shirts after the Annapolis boat show and that was the end of the Wirie T-shirts! Luckily, it was after the show. Sometimes, it is better that husbands don't shop. And wives don't do laundry. :-) December was busy as always and in the New Year, we are looking at quite a bit of moving around.
ReplyDeleteThat's so lucky you didn't ruin the t-shirts until after the show!
DeleteLove this post, Ellen. Sorry to hear you were sick over the holidays, though. I'm not sure what a glow plug is, but it sounds interesting--if not great for engines.
ReplyDeleteDecember was (mostly) wonderful. I accidentally burned a couple of bridges, so I guess writing full-time is a thing now, for better or worse! But other than that, it was great and I had amazing Christmases with both families. Couldn't ask for more.
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to you too! Glad your December was great overall. Even if you did burn a few bridges, maybe it's for the best and you can really focus on that full-time writing.
DeleteI'm glad you are feeling better, life can be a drag when you're ill. I haven't seen any of the new Star Trek, or Star Wars movies, and I'm envious. I think they should have a wine bar at the front of all hardware stores too, I hate dragging along for those shopping trips. We just finished back to back guests, and I can't concentrate on what to do next. Maybe tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of a wine bar at hardware stores :-)
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