A Dirty Ass Boat!

Nirvana covered in filth!

While I hate to admit it, I must tell the truth ... we've allowed Nirvana to become one dirty ass boat!  We've got a ton of good excuses ... renovating our house last summer for selling, finishing just in time to get damage from Hurricane Isaac in August, finishing repairs again right before winter, renovating our rental this past Spring, than Ken fell off a ladder ... whew!  Sounds like good justification for neglecting our boat, right?

While Nirvana's boot stripe and canvas are green, we weren't digging the green growing on the hull and in the cockpit.  The picture above and the picture below don't capture just how green and dirty Nirvana was, but that was probably intentional on my part ... so embarrassing!

Anyway, Ken's almost recovered from his injuries and after resting on Saturday he felt up to pressure-washing Nirvana on Sunday.  Yes, it was Father's Day ... call me a slave driver!  Actually, Ken was just as anxious to  get our sailboat cleaned up as I was.  Neither one of us makes a big deal out of Mother's Day or Father's Day, and we did have plans to take my dad to dinner later with our daughter and her fiancee.

We got up early Sunday, pulled out the pressure washer and soap, and Ken began working his butt off while I watched ... for just a little while!  Ken figured he'd pressure-wash our deck first and there wasn't much I could do.  Once he started on the boat, I followed behind him with a soft brush/mop.

Pressure washer and cleaning supplies ... she looks pretty good from a distance!  The trees are great for shade, but they make a mess on our boat.  Did you notice how big the frogs get here in Louisiana?

You're probably also noticing our pitiful sail cover.  We had a new sail pack made last year, and soon Ken will be making some lazy jacks and installing them with our new sail pack.  We'll also be adding our head sail and our bimini that we removed for Hurricane Isaac.  Crazy how time has gotten away from us!

About five hours later, Nirvana was so clean she seemed to be glowing!  The teak already looks much better and is now ready for another application of CWF (we missed last year's application), and our fairly new ports are polished and shiny.  I went inside the boat to wipe up any water from leaks  ... other than by the companionway there was nothing to wipe!  We're really happy with our ports and I'll be writing another post soon about some great Lexan cleaner/polish that we found.  After not being touched for over a year, they look great!

The cockpit is clean, so we look forward to hanging out here after work and listening to music while enjoying the view.  We used to do that a lot last year until ... well, you know our excuses.  Notice the places we have silver tape ... that's where our winches need to go after they're cleaned (directions here).

Oh and notice the guy on the raft ... who is he?!

I can't tell ya how good it feels to work on Nirvana and bring her back to life!   We still need to change the oil, fluids and filters before we leave the dock but we know we'll be on the water soon.  Woo hoo!

Nirvana cleans up pretty good doesn't she?

Hasta luego ... until then.  Mid-Life Cruising!

Playing With Graphics

Our life has been the same ole' stuff lately ... work, sleep, repeat till the weekend then rest for the injured (Ken) till another work week.  Since there's nothing exciting going on,  I won't bore you with the details.

While Ken and I haven't moved on Nirvana yet, we're always focused on cruising.  As a real estate agent in a slow market, I'm often sitting in my office reading cruising blogs and dreaming of the day we're doing the same.  In a way it keeps me sane.  It gives me something to look forward to and it.provides me with the knowledge that things will change.  Our lives won't always be consumed by work ... and monotony.  Cruising is our light at the end of a tunnel.

"I will not be a common man.  I will stir the smooth sands of monotony" - Peter O'Toole

Anyway, a while back I was dreaming and playing around on my computer.  I was thinking of the Buddha decal that I'd like to create for Nirvana before we leave, and I somehow came across ImageBot.  It's a tool for photo editing and creating drawings and logos.  Now, I know nothing about graphic design but I easily learned the basics.  While learning, I came up with the above picture.  If only I could figure out how to draw a Buddha!

Hasta luego ... until then.  Mid-Life Cruising!

Two Thirds Of Our Life!

Ken's surprise 18th birthday party!

When I thought about our 24th wedding anniversary today, I thought how scary it is that time flies so quickly.   Some days it seems like just yesterday that Ken and I met, and other days it seems like a lifetime ago.  I started thinking about how we've actually been together for 30 years ... six years before our wedding.  Then things really seemed crazy when I realized that at the age of 46 ... we've been together two thirds of our lives!  

When my best friend, Donna, and I scheduled a wood-working class in our junior year of high school we hoped to meet some cute guys.  Who knew I'd meet my future husband in that class!  Ken and I became instant friends that year, and started dating that summer ... before our senior year.

Ken and my best friend, Donna ... junior year, 1983

Ken and I went on to college together at Southeastern Louisiana University and each received a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management.  One month after college graduation we got married ... June 11, 1989.  

Our wedding night, after I changed clothes.  Maybe next year on our 25th anniversary I'll post our 80's wedding picture with my big dress ... and my big hair!  What was I thinking?!

Within a few months Ken and I purchased our first house. 

A couple of years later ... we planned our pregnancy and had a baby girl, Erica.

Erica's first birthday!

When looking back, we were just babies when we got together.  It hasn't all been easy, but it's been worth it!  I'm so glad to share a beautiful, intelligent daughter with Ken and I can't wait to share our "golden years" together ... experiencing the world on our sailboat!

What will we do tonight to celebrate?  Well, the practical and frugal part of us says not much.  Maybe we'll go to the local "Happy Hour", maybe we'll check out the new "Hooter's" that opened up last night (every town needs one of those right), or maybe we'll just hang out at home.  It's a work night and we have a tight budget for our cruising plans, so we won't be doing anything extravagant.  Next year is our 25th anniversary ... I'm really hoping we're living on Nirvana by then.  To us, that would be the greatest gift for that milestone.

Hasta luego ... until then.  Mid-Life Cruising!

*By the way, several of you have asked how Ken's doing ... thanks so much for your kind words and thoughts!  With what seemed to be a fractured left wrist, a sore right wrist, and bruised ribs ... it's been a slow recovery.  Ken's been working long days, trying not to do too much.  But, that's easier said than done when the bills need to be paid.  Luckily, it seems the worst is over and Ken is almost feeling back to normal.  A false sense of recovery can be dangerous, so he's still taking it easy and itching to get back on our sailboat.  We're hoping this weekend may be good for cleaning Nirvana.