Mom's Bucket List

Alice, who will be 85 in August, came to Texas to visit for three weeks and to help me celebrate my birthday.  (She loves a good celebration.)  When she informed us she wanted to go sailing, I was pleasantly surprised because she is not a water person.  

We set a date, but I really thought she would back out especially with winds predicted in Galveston Bay at 17 knots on our sceduled date.  This was a tad puzzling to me because her entire life she has reminded her kids, almost daily, how much she dislikes water activities.  I explained to her how Adventure Us 2 would heel and she just shrugged her shoulders like she had no concerns.

Sunday rolled around and she was waiting for us by the front door with her bag full of accouterments:  sunscreen, sun glasses, visor, boat shoes, and barf bag.  Ten minutes later we boarded Adventure US 2 and prepared to motor through the Kemah channel and out into the bay.  It was a gorgeous day and we all looked forward to a great sail!  We sailed for nearly three hours and not a scream, whine, or complaint came from her!  Allthough I did hear one or two  squeels of delight.  It was amazing!  She enjoyed it so much she asked if we could go again before she travels back to Pittsburgh!

 

 

Celebrating with a bucket of cold Tecate at Outriggers after checking sailing off mom's bucket list!



 

 

We All Get To Be a Super Hero Once in a While. By JLee

Michael and I  went to the boat after our late Sunday lunch and as we walked down the dock Michael commented that something was not right.  The AC was not running and he definitely left it on.  After entering the boat he checked the water pump to find that there were two small fish in the strainer.  He handed it to me to clean and as the water from the sink was running into the strainer, one fish stared to squirm and wiggle.  Being the female of the species I screamed shouted: "It's alive"!  I scooped it up and ran up the companion way and dropped it into the water.  When I returned to the galley I finished cleaning the filter and started to scooped up the dead fish to dispose of it and it started to wiggling in my hand.

Round two...scoop, run, and drop. 

Synopsis....I saved two lives today! 
Someone please bring me my super hero cape.

Accessorizing

Finally we are at the point where all things are beginning to come together and AdventureUS2 is beginning to look like our boat! 

You will recall a few posts back (Stressful Fun), I was busy making the decision on what fabric to use  for our salon cushions and  lee cloth covers.  Well, the other day Jackie from Island Furniture text me to let me know our salon seating was finished.  I made an appointment to meet her in order for her to deliver and install the cushions.  I must say, they look absolutely stunning, and the craftsmanship is impeccable.  Now I can spend even more of  Michael's our hard earned money accessorizing.   

After surfing the net for weeks searching for  the perfect decorative pillows, I am leaning toward  sexy animal prints. ( I have never been a flower pattern person, flower child maybe.)  Perhaps a little bit of a zebra print, or tiger pattern. Or how about a sassy snake, reptile, or organic wildlife design? Maybe a pattern reminiscent of feathers or even trees

  .

Now the REAL fun begins! Accessorize, accessorize, and ACCESSORIZE!  Well, as much as I can without killing 3 miles of Velcro!  Hmmmm, I wonder if I can get Jackie to shoot and skin .... Nah probably not, but I bet I can talk her into putting her machine to work again.
 

What Will I Do Without Country Western Dancing?

By Janet Lee

One of my concerns regarding our sailboat adventure, other than the obvious lack of storage space, is that our everyday familiar objects and routine(s) will under go an extreme and dramatic change. The journey we have laid out for ourselves promises to be the adventure of a lifetime. There are many places we want to explore and experience, and the only way to fulfill our dream is to just turn the page and walk away from our comfortable life, and relationships. Honestly, it makes me a little apprehensive to think about the required transformation, especially when we cut the dock lines.

For example: most Saturday nights, for more than 5 years, we have been patronizing Masa Sushi for our fix of sashimi (we love the top quality fish, staff and management); then we make our way around the corner to Big Texas South for a night of getting physical on the hard wood dance floor.  I am almost certain that we will not find any cowboy dance halls in the Caribbean.  The idea of not whirling and twirling, with boot stomping, hat wearing, rednecks is a daunting thought, but a needed transformation if we are to continue with our goal.



For me, moving into this previously unexplored way of living carries a factor dependant on personal bravery and the courage to think of my life in new, tangible terms.  What will my life be like with out Big Texas, without my Corvette, without my spurs, boots, whips, costumes, and the rednecks, humanoids, cyborgs, and zombies I interact with daily?  I don't know the answer to that question.  What I can rationalize is that it will be different.    Different in a poignantly healthy sort of way.  But not like this:
                                                               
                                 

Still, I wonder if I can shrink wrap my life and store it in a cardboard box plastic bag in the V birth.