Life in the New Year
My work as a study subject is going well.
-- Consciously contacting my various friends among Deity and Divinity first thing in the morning feels lovely, and it's interesting to see that different ones come forward on successive days. Guardians, Sacred Fire, God Hirself ... so far.
-- Moving first thing in the morning is educational -- did I really think I could do Sun Salutation just a few minutes out of bed? In three days I've learned that I'm better off starting with stretching. If I'm going to do warrior poses I need to be moving for longer than three minutes first.
-- Free-writing first thing in the morning feels marvelous, and may stick as a long-term practice (or if it doesn't, I'd like at least to remember that I'm loving it and can do it any morning I choose). Our instructions are to write a bit what's present now, allow an inquiry to come forward, sit silent and listening for a reply. Some of the replies I have heard have been stunning in their simplicity, the sort of thing that's "obvious" now that the most creative thinker in the room has given it voice.
Work on Second Summit is going well.
-- Good news about structure: Dear Husband got a window out of its frame yesterday and discovered that the horrible creeping rot visible on the inside of the cabin is limited to the mostly-decorative plywood interior; the thick fiberglas body of the cabintop is intact. Yay!
-- Confirmation of bad news about recent maintenance: DH found they'd used at least two different kinds of sealant on the window (probably the second in an ill-considered attempt to stop a leak by caulking the inside, thereby increasing the rot's progress by trapping water, instead of the outside to keep the water out). No idea yet what it is, but chisel and scrubbing have removed nearly all of it from the aluminum frame. Next stop: automotive glass repair shop where we hope they can install a new window in the frame, leaving us with only one joint to seal instead of two.
-- Learned some of the local tricks for no-see-ums (those biting flies about twice the size of the period at the end of this sentence. They bite hard and leave a circular red welt the size of the capital 'O' in this typeface. Within minutes the welt itches and continues itching intermittently for days). Seems a combination of light and specific-pheromone lure (away from where we're sitting, please) to attract them to a bug-zapper ... and a citronella candle to send them away from where we're sitting ... so we tried these, and they are at least some help. Maybe next week I won't be so polkadotted.
Living on Orion is settling down.
-- Everything is finally dry.
-- Most everything is finally stowed. We've already discovered we need two complete sets of kitchen utensils; it's just too confusing to take things over to Second Summit and then not remember for sure which boat has what.
-- We've got a 2007 calendar posted and marked-up; we still need a 2007 tide chart.
-- My 'standard boat clothes' list was clearly made in different weather: I've been doing laundry more often in order to have clean tank-tops, and haven't needed any of my turtlenecks in over a week. Do I need more clothing storage? (I could do that, it'd just be cumbersome.) Do I need to re-organize? (of course, always.) Definitely I need a visit to the local thrift store and more tank-tops; laundromat twice a week is not in my preferred schedule.
-- DH has cooked every night of the year (so far) and is cooking again tonight. Since neither of us had a home-cooked meal from Dec 16 to 31, this is a nice surprise.
Surprises of tropical life.
-- Second Summit has at least one resident crab. About two-inch diameter body, with cute tiny claws that could probably make a nice hole in one of my toes if I got close enough. We've seen it twice now, once on the finger-pier next to the boat, and today it was crawling along the rub rail. When I suggested it ought to leave, it moved smartly away from where we were about to step over it to get aboard, but instead of dropping into the water or crawling onto the pier, it went under the rubrail and into a windowframe. I find myself imagining that the first time it finds an open window it will move indoors ... and then be scuttling under my feet some morning. Guess I've gotta watch my step now.
-- Everywhere has roaches palmetto bugs. I shared my shoreside shower with one yesterday (she stayed in her corner, I stayed in mine). Haven't seen any on Orion but watched one crawl through the seam in a bilge cover on Second Summit.
-- Even my skin is different. Moisturizers that work well up north don't seem to do much here, or else stay on the surface like grease.
I'm watching myself muttering and meandering. Do I really have nothing to say? Am I procrastinating on my things-to-do list?
Love and light and lots of laughter
:)
-- Consciously contacting my various friends among Deity and Divinity first thing in the morning feels lovely, and it's interesting to see that different ones come forward on successive days. Guardians, Sacred Fire, God Hirself ... so far.
-- Moving first thing in the morning is educational -- did I really think I could do Sun Salutation just a few minutes out of bed? In three days I've learned that I'm better off starting with stretching. If I'm going to do warrior poses I need to be moving for longer than three minutes first.
-- Free-writing first thing in the morning feels marvelous, and may stick as a long-term practice (or if it doesn't, I'd like at least to remember that I'm loving it and can do it any morning I choose). Our instructions are to write a bit what's present now, allow an inquiry to come forward, sit silent and listening for a reply. Some of the replies I have heard have been stunning in their simplicity, the sort of thing that's "obvious" now that the most creative thinker in the room has given it voice.
Work on Second Summit is going well.
-- Good news about structure: Dear Husband got a window out of its frame yesterday and discovered that the horrible creeping rot visible on the inside of the cabin is limited to the mostly-decorative plywood interior; the thick fiberglas body of the cabintop is intact. Yay!
-- Confirmation of bad news about recent maintenance: DH found they'd used at least two different kinds of sealant on the window (probably the second in an ill-considered attempt to stop a leak by caulking the inside, thereby increasing the rot's progress by trapping water, instead of the outside to keep the water out). No idea yet what it is, but chisel and scrubbing have removed nearly all of it from the aluminum frame. Next stop: automotive glass repair shop where we hope they can install a new window in the frame, leaving us with only one joint to seal instead of two.
-- Learned some of the local tricks for no-see-ums (those biting flies about twice the size of the period at the end of this sentence. They bite hard and leave a circular red welt the size of the capital 'O' in this typeface. Within minutes the welt itches and continues itching intermittently for days). Seems a combination of light and specific-pheromone lure (away from where we're sitting, please) to attract them to a bug-zapper ... and a citronella candle to send them away from where we're sitting ... so we tried these, and they are at least some help. Maybe next week I won't be so polkadotted.
Living on Orion is settling down.
-- Everything is finally dry.
-- Most everything is finally stowed. We've already discovered we need two complete sets of kitchen utensils; it's just too confusing to take things over to Second Summit and then not remember for sure which boat has what.
-- We've got a 2007 calendar posted and marked-up; we still need a 2007 tide chart.
-- My 'standard boat clothes' list was clearly made in different weather: I've been doing laundry more often in order to have clean tank-tops, and haven't needed any of my turtlenecks in over a week. Do I need more clothing storage? (I could do that, it'd just be cumbersome.) Do I need to re-organize? (of course, always.) Definitely I need a visit to the local thrift store and more tank-tops; laundromat twice a week is not in my preferred schedule.
-- DH has cooked every night of the year (so far) and is cooking again tonight. Since neither of us had a home-cooked meal from Dec 16 to 31, this is a nice surprise.
Surprises of tropical life.
-- Second Summit has at least one resident crab. About two-inch diameter body, with cute tiny claws that could probably make a nice hole in one of my toes if I got close enough. We've seen it twice now, once on the finger-pier next to the boat, and today it was crawling along the rub rail. When I suggested it ought to leave, it moved smartly away from where we were about to step over it to get aboard, but instead of dropping into the water or crawling onto the pier, it went under the rubrail and into a windowframe. I find myself imagining that the first time it finds an open window it will move indoors ... and then be scuttling under my feet some morning. Guess I've gotta watch my step now.
-- Everywhere has roaches palmetto bugs. I shared my shoreside shower with one yesterday (she stayed in her corner, I stayed in mine). Haven't seen any on Orion but watched one crawl through the seam in a bilge cover on Second Summit.
-- Even my skin is different. Moisturizers that work well up north don't seem to do much here, or else stay on the surface like grease.
I'm watching myself muttering and meandering. Do I really have nothing to say? Am I procrastinating on my things-to-do list?
Love and light and lots of laughter
:)