Month: April 2015
Onward!
I think today must have had more than 24 hours in it. It felt SO long. We packed and cleaned and scrubbed and ran errands and cleaned some more. Our bedroom looked quite sterile with all our stuff out of it, and the living room looked beautifully clean yet rather lonely.
Once again we left our home cleaner than we found it, and we have so many wonderful memories to take with us. We feel grateful to have lived in such a beautiful place with wonderful friends close by.
Speaking of wonderful friends, our dear friends, the Walea family, stopped by just as we were about to load up the truck, trailer and car. It also happened to be right about the time that Danny and the creatures and I were feeling especially exhausted and overwhelmed. Our sweet friends took the time to help us with what seemed like an impossible task, and we did it in a fraction of the time that we would have, had they not been there!
Thank you so much for all your love and help Walea Family. We are going to miss you!
After all that, we all went and tucked Time Out in. She is all comfy in her new slip in the marina, and we pray she will continue to be safe. What a great little sailboat!
The creatures hit the road and are headed for Nipomo, to Mom and Dad, and Danny and I came to Santa Barbara, where we will spend the night and then rise and shine bright and early to get to the hospital by 6am for my surgery. Today my Mom called and told me she will be having rotator cuff surgery done on May 5th, and on the 15th my Dad will have his stint replaced. The three of us will be quite the trio. My Mom and I in left arm slings and my Dad laid up. I’m sure we will have some laughs.
The sky was gorgeous as we drove tonight. I am so grateful for such a beautiful world.
Last night on Monaco Drive
Today was wild and crazy. It began with running creatures to school, then errands and sorting, packing and cleaning. Hannah, Danny and the twins moved Time Out to her new slip in a marina in Ventura Harbor.
The giant pickle went along for the ride too. It made me tear up seeing her leave this dock that has been her home for all this time, but she looks pretty all tucked away in her new home. We will keep her listed for sale but if she doesn’t sell, we’ll just have to come back and sail her here sometime!
The creatures have been so amazing with their happy attitudes and helpfulness. Every time I look around I see one of them cleaning something or organizing something else – without being asked. We truly have the greatest kids in the world.
Yesterday Hunter reached over me and pulled a couple things down from a high shelf where I couldn’t reach or see. I said to him that it’s crazy, he can see things in life I’ll never see way up there. His reply was, ‘It’s okay Mum, you get to see the bubble gum under the bleachers that I don’t get to see.’ What a funny kid. I don’t consider myself myself short till I’m around my creatures.
Tonight Mycah made dinner and we went down and ate together on the dock. It seemed so naked down there without the boat, for our last meal in our back yard.
Now I lie completely exhausted. The anesthesia on Thursday morning is going to feel so good! Even though I’ve showered, my hands still smell like clorox and my back and feet are pounding. But, we got so much done and sweet friends kept stopping by unexpectedly to give hugs and say farewell through the evening. We feel loved and we love deeply. Life is good.
Two more nights in our house
Today we accomplished so much, including setting up a PO Box at the Mariners Mail Stop.
It is such a quaint little post office specifically for cruisers like us. They will forward our mail to us in Panama either weekly or bi-monthly. I love the way they have the place decorated with fishing nets, old ships and paintings of sail boats.
In between all the packing today, Hannah took a little break in a box. We are all pretty tired tonight.
Another productive day
We got so much done today. It most definitely was not a day of rest like our Sundays usually are! We are on the final count down now and had to work hard. Four of Mycah’s friends came over to help and they worked their little tails off too. Several more items got sold, several went to storage and everybody ate random things out of the pantry all day long. We even checked to see if we could possibly squeeze in a stow away!
I went into Mycah’s room at one point to find her and her friends all pretending to sleep lol.
Things are looking pretty empty at this point….
I grabbed who knows what out of the freezer and pantry and whipped up some dinner. We’ll be having weird meals from here on out…tonight’s was a coconut shrimp over rice, and now I’m ready to snuggle up with my Darling, watch some netflix and get some much needed beauty sleep!
Wonderful memories
One of my fondest childhood memories, is of my Dad coming home with a huge box of prickly pears, and all of us gathering around with a fork and sharp knife in hand and peeling them all. We’d end up with a huge bowl of peeled prickly pears for the fridge. There is nothing like chilled fresh juicy delicious prickly pears! We have become quite skilled in the art of peeling them without ending up with a single thorn in our hands, and I have taught many of my children this same skill. Yesterday in downtown Ventura, I saw a cactus with these growing on them. Aside from being delicious, I think they are so beautiful!
The twins have been working SO hard on their school work, trying to get every assignment for the entire school year completed and handed in. School isn’t over till beginning of June, but since we are leaving this week, they wanted to be able to hand everything in to their teacher that has been overseeing their home school work. Mrs Gwen has been such a wonderful teacher. Aidan and Emma love her. I have no doubt that her and her beautiful family will come join us on our yacht in Panama for a while, so we can explore together and continue to enjoy the great friendship that we have formed. Thank you for being so awesome Gwen!
From now till June, the twins will be continuing to read many books and present book reports on them to Hannah and I. Thank you to our sweet Hannah for helping the midgets through this school year. You’re an Angel, of that I’m sure!
Need some Time Out?
Hannah is selling her beautiful 27′ Catalina. She’s a beauty, is so easy to sail and sails like a dream. Built in 1971 and still in excellent shape with a brand spanking new diesel engine replacement. Rather than just a tiller, she has a helm too, which makes sailing even more fun!
She comes with many sails, a BBQ on the back, a cook top and sink, flushing toilet and lots of storage space.
Hannah has removed and restained all the wood on Time Out and scrubbed every square inch of her.
We’ve been out in her in some pretty rough seas and she’s solid and steady. It’s hard for us to part with her.
Hannah is asking $7200 OBO
Some days are better than others!
Today was a very frustrating day. So, I bought a flat of freshly picked strawberries, and it makes everything alright 😉 One of the things I’m going to miss about this beautiful area in California where we live, are the strawberry fields. We are surrounded by them. Right now aside from strawberries, cabbage and celery are being harvested.
When driving down the road, the smells in the air make me feel like I’m living in a giant salad bowl. I love it.
I was frustrated today because I made my 5th and 6th trips to the social security office in attempts to get Jonathan’s social security number, and every time they tell me they need more information. I have come to understand why there are so many illegals in this country…it’s because they make it too expensive and difficult to do things legally!
Mycah had another swim meet today and did beautifully. She placed first in breast stroke, breaking her personal record. We are so proud of her for all her hard work.
Last night Emma decided to bake a cake. She baked a 3 layer chocolate raspberry cake from scratch – all without a recipe. She decorated it with a ‘messy raspberry design’ in mind. It was delicious.
Tomorrow will be a busy day. Our last Saturday in Oxnard.
Jam session
Danny and Hunter spent several hours listening to music, and singing and playing along on their guitars. It was so fun to listen to them. What amazing talent.
Today we checked a few more things off the ‘to do’ list. Aside from loads to storage, Aidan and Danny had their last dental appointments. Aidan had to have some cavities taken care of and I’m not sure what they gave him for numbing meds, but when he was done he told me that he really thought the dentist and his assistant were talking in code. I asked him what he meant and he said they were talking about going to Santa Cruise and walking the shoreline. He was convinced that they were referring to his mouth as the shoreline and the excursions they were talking about was them drilling into his cavities. It made me laugh so hard.
I sewed the draw string bags up today. They are for the kids to use to carry their toiletries back and forth between the boat and the marina bathrooms.
I’ve been receiving e-mails from our friends at Red Frog Beach. They say Tanda Malaika is doing well and looking forward to her family joining her 🙂 They even started her engines up for us.
Another day has come to an end now, and I am so grateful for life.
Family
Long ago and far away in Africa, before people really bothered to keep track of time, my beautiful mother and handsome father decided to tie the knot. She was a beauty queen and he was tall dark and handsome…somethings never change.
My brother, sister and I are the luckiest kids alive. We grew up chasing ostriches across the desert and digging up semi precious stones in South West Africa, watching baboons try pull our windshield wipers off our car in Cape Town, and camp where lions walk and hyena laugh.
Our family is Eternal, and we will always have those priceless memories to continue to enjoy and share. We can sit and talk for hours, just as our original family of 5, and better yet…..
look at us now! (and we are even missing a few here!)
Thank you Mommy and Daddy for raising us with love and patience. And thank you for encouraging us to be adventurous and spontaneous. For showing us beauty beyond words. Our journey has been wonderful so far, and will no doubt continue to be, for the rest of forever.
Constant Change
Isn’t it interesting how just as soon as we think we have life figured out for a while, we come to realize that when it comes right down to it, we have no control. All we can do is adapt and learn and grow as individuals. We have to live by faith. Faith in knowing that as long as we do our absolute best, with the purest intentions, everything will eventually be okay in the end…and sometimes not just okay, but better than we ever imagined.
My mom told me a story of how when she was a little girl, and she was being lazy, her mom told her to go sit by an anthill and observe how hard the little insects worked. She saw each ant working very hard – each fulfilling it’s purpose, and together the entire colony benefited. Today our little ant colony made progress. Hannah took it upon herself to get her siblings to finish packing their rooms up and then clean them too. Danny worked hard at putting things on Craigslist and eBay, and Jonathan and Hunter loaded and unloaded storage stuff. I’m not sure what I did, but I know I was busy!
My Mom and Dad had their first appointment at the Cancer Institute, and now have a few more questions answered. More to think about and plan for with Daddies pancreatic cancer.
I had a Cardio appointment and my doctor wants to reposition my pacemaker. My surgery will be on May 1st.
So much going on, so much to adapt to. So much to learn from. I am grateful for life’s trials and blessings, even though some are hard to swallow.
Adventures of a Tribe 