To the left, to the left....

Yes. I have been singing a little Miss Beyonce as of late. "Everything you own in a box to the left....don't you ever get to thinking, you're irreplaceable."

I am just beginning the task of boxing everything up in order to empty the house to get it ready to go on the market. We are pretty fortunate that there is not a whole lot of work to do to make the house ready (because another major refit project would kill me!), just a little paint here and there, a bit of spit and polish and removing all bits of my whack a  doodle decorating personality to make it Neutral (with a capital N).The walls are starting to look very bare though and as I pack, my brain starts working over time because that's what you do when you are engaged in a routine task.

I won't miss the house. I realized that I have lived in this house longer than I have ever lived in any house- 8.5 years. Growing up, we moved often for my dad's job and staying somewhere more than 3 years was worthy of note. A tendency towards Gypsy wandering was ingrained in me early I suppose. We've certainly had some wonderful times here, but we could have just as easily had them anywhere else so there is no longing for place as I start to pack things away.

I'm sorting through accumulated possessions- to donate, to sell, to pack away and as I pack I came to the realization that really, its just stuff for the most part. As I sealed up a box, I realized that if everything else were to go, this one small box contains all of the material possessions that I can not bear to part with. The monetary value of the contents of this box is probably somewhere around $5. Photographs, press clippings from back in the day, a baby blanket crocheted for my girls by my aunt, a throw made by my great grandmother, recordings from my days as a musician, the greatest writing assignment Maura ever did ( at age 8) and a couple of small lacquer boxes given to me by my best friend. It was a very strange feeling to realize that this one small box contains everything I would want to hold on to. Stranger still to realize that with half of my life over, this small box contains the essence of me, but even if I were to lose this I would be okay. Its the memories I hold that can never be replaced and also, can never be taken away.

 Isn't accumulation of stuff the American way? Perhaps I should take a look at my passport again, just to be sure.

I think what this means on a deeper level is that I am ready. Ready for the next chapter of our life and ready to create something of real value, memories.

So I continue to pack things away. I plan on having it all boxed up save for what we need day to day by the beginning of April. Then it will be time to paint, plant and pretty up the house and put the house on the market. I thought it would be harder to leave it all but truthfully, its not as hard as I was worried it might be. Stuff can be replaced, memories and the people we make them with are what's really important. Yep, I think I am really, really ready.

The writing assignment Maura did at age 8 that I absolutely treasure. It still makes me giggle every time I read it. Its carefully packed into the VIP box because its just too good to get rid of.

I Was Told There Would Be Beaches And Sunsets.

I never wanted to write a refit blog. What I wanted was a travel blog. A place to write about all the amazing places we were seeing. A place to keep all of those happy memories intact so that we could look back over them in years to come and remember where we had been. The colossal mistakes I made in executing this plan was A: buying a boat to travel on and B: buying a boat with my darling, perfectionist, Type A engineer Captain. Until this fall, a refit blog it is. Le sigh.

Work continues on the front cabin. If you recall, this wasn't going to be on our to do list as we hired a shipwright to do the work. The shipwright was a very charming, affable guy who unfortunately did not possess the necessary skill needed to fit out the cabin to our standards (granted, we KNOW we are picky) nor did he seem interested in doing things in a cost effective manner. Lesson learned. If you want something done right, have Mark do it. Just try not to look too closely at the calendar.

Mark has been finishing out the cabinetry in the front cabin. We had seen a couple of sisterships who removed the cramped, front head to open up the cabin but it seems no one else took the time to or spent the money to improve the functionality by increasing the storage and providing a secure place to sit while underway. We needed more storage, a place to sit to while getting dressed and most of all, a beautiful finish. We are well on our way. The cabinetry work is just about done and soon, very soon it will be time to insulate the cabin roof and install the headliner. Then it will be my turn to have a go at the soft goods to turn the cabin into something worthy of a couple who has lavished care, love, blood, sweat and a whole lot of tears on a little boat.

When you are working with teak, there is a level of anxiety that comes anytime you fire up a power tool or take a planer in hand that you just do not get when working with another wood. Teak is incredibly expensive, a diminishing resource and can behave in unexpected ways. Given this, you can maybe understand why Mark was so very chuffed to have perfectly cut, routed and shaped this piece of molding-

I know, I know. It's a piece of wood and not a sunset on a beach. Sometimes, you have to take the happy where you find it. We were similarly excited about...wood when Mark managed to nail the construction of the fiddle around shelf here.

Sitting on the work bench, it doesn't look like much but once you see it all coming together...

Then you start to think, maybe a refit blog isn't quite so bad after all. Beaches and sunsets are beautiful but you know what? My front cabin is starting to be pretty darned beautiful too.

Plan is a four letter word.

Why yes, I am forced to recycle an old photo. I have not bit the bullet to rebuy my photo software. Having to buy a new laptop was painful enough. Kitty decided that my laptop needed cleaning, a through cleaning to make my "keys sparkly". For the record, Mrs. Meyers will make your smoking laptop smell very lemony. Also for the record, I will never fail to back up my software ever again.

Some people like to make plans. We used to like to make plans. Then we bought a boat and realized plans and boats go together like gravy and strawberry jam.

When ever anyone would ask Mark what his plans were, he would say "I hope to get out of Galveston Bay". He was hesitant to commit to anything more concrete because there seemed to be no end in sight for the refit of the boat. Now that we are making some progress on the check list (we now have a functional toilet. THIS IS BIG!) its time to start thinking about where we want to go with this soon to be sea worthy boat of ours. Mark has left the route planning to me which is great but also a bit daunting. You want bureaucracy and red tape? Start trying to make an itinerary which involves multiple countries, a boat, a crew of varying citizenship/passports and ages and then throw in treaties, Visa requirements, weather patterns, etc and you see why I now have a project to keep me busy for quite some time.

Originally, we thought we would tool around the Caribbean for a bit, then head across the Pacific. Now we are not so sure that this the best route for us. I know its what we are "supposed" to do. A run from the west coast of Mexico to the Marquesas is kind of like a sailing requirement. By looking at other options we know we are going to lose all of our sail cred. Wait a minute. We never had any sail cred so let's drag that map out again...

Mark has always wanted to sail to French Polynesia. Always as in from the time he first learned to sail almost 30 years ago. I am sort of an "okay, let's do it" kind of gal so I always assumed that would be the case. Now, we aren't so certain this is what we want to do. I know a Pacific crossing is de rigeur for cruising boats but we have a couple of reasons to reconsider at this point.

The first reason is that when pressed, Mark admitted his desire to do the South Pacfic has less to do with an interest in anthropology and more to do with the idea of being in an utterly gorgeous tropical location. The crossing would take the better part of a month to make landfall on said gorgeous tropical location. Meanwhile, the Caribbean is definitely happening and while it might not be quite so exotic and doesn't have the tropical mountain majesty of French Polynesia, it does have the advantage of requiring a heck of a lot less time in crossing. Heck of a lot as in you can hit a new island every other day or so.

The second reason? The big draw for a Pacific crossing for me was the lure of India. I have been seriously in love with the culture, art, religions and history of India since I was a little girl. India is my bucket list destination to be sure. I have heard from expat Indian friends over and over that I need to rethink visiting India with a teen aged daughter. The reasons why I need to rethink this are pretty well documented. Just Google "Eve teasing" and you see this is not a silly concern. Its something to seriously consider. I want to go to India more than anything, but this isn't just about me. I have two young daughters to consider and one would be 17 by the time we reach India.The prime target for Eve teasing- young, foreign and female. Everything could be fine but if luck is not on our side, it could be a seriously bad experience for my daughter. Since the area I want most to explore is inland and would require frequent use of public transportation and since public transit is ground zero for some really heinous behavior towards women, ts losing its appeal.

The third reason? After getting to India we would be faced with a whole bunch of suck. Heading through the upper Red Sea area and hoping its a quiet pirate season from the Somalis? Suck. Making it through the Red Sea up to the Suez canal? I am thinking that being on an American flagged vessel in Egypt right now might also be full of suck. The other option is to sail around the Cape and while I would love to see South Africa, the Cape is for serious sailors. That is certainly not me at this point in time. I might consider rounding the Cape after a few years of blue water sailing but today, where I sit just now with 2 young girls its sounding like something better left off the itinerary for now.

So. What are we thinking? Currently we are planning to have a 6 month shakedown in the Caribbean. We will figure out what equipment we really need to add, what changes we need to make to the boat and whether or not we need additional crew for a big passage. We are thinking of then returning to the US during hurricane season to make those changes and adjustments. After that, hopefully an abbreviated run through the upper Caribbean before heading for Bermuda, the Azores, Europe and the Mediterranean.

We are thinking of Europe for a few reasons. First of all, we want Maura to get a good feel for it before she leaves for University. There is a very good likelihood we will go back to work in Europe after our sabbatical and we want her to have a feel for it so she can make an informed decision after University as to whether she wants to live in the US or the UK as an adult. Another reason is that there are opportunities for Mark to pick up some consulting work in the UK or Norway which would help to replenish the coffers a bit. After looking at prices in Europe, this might be more important than any other! Then there is the added bonus of being in close proximity to our family in Scotland. The thought of them being able to just hop over and meet us is a very enticing thought indeed.

So there ya have it. Not really a "plan" but an idea we are seriously looking into and as close to a plan as we can get right now. I am in the midst of not only figuring out routing and weather patterns, but digging into VAT laws and Schengen treaty issues. (So far what I have learned is that the EU really, really loves paperwork and forms) Nothing is written in stone and we are just beginning to really firm up our "ideas" and at this point we refuse to use the P word. Stay tuned...

Some Place In Between....

We did manage a little together time to go for a walk in the woods....

Let me tell you a little secret about life once the cruise count down move to under one year. It is HARD. Not hard in a "oh my there are so many things to do" kind of hard. That can be daunting, but every completed project ticked off the list comes with a satisfying sense of accomplishment. Its not hard in an "oh my we are going to be leaving bay and forth sailing and heading out into the ocean and it kinda freaks me out" way. Anytime I start to feel a little nervous about sailing far from land, I have the assurances of friends who have done it remind me that you are safer far from the coast than closer to it. Being a little nervous and therefore respectful of the power of the ocean is a good thing and that respect is what is going to keep Ceol Mor safely sailing. No, its hard existing in this bizarre half life of waiting.

Mark just finished is official last day of work. He might have a few days of consult work here and there, but the next 10 months or so are going to be dedicated to finishing up projects and getting the boat ready to go. Its more than a little scary to be looking at a year with no income but its part of the plan. I think perhaps it was not the brightest idea to end full time employment the month of Christmas. We do not go crazy at all, but any kind of Christmas is going to be an outlay of cash and now its time to remember fun today means less fun tomorrow. Because Murphy lives in our house, of course this was the month Kitty decided to clean my laptop thoroughly with Mrs Meyers. I will say that Mrs. Meyers makes the smoke pouring forth from a dying laptop smell all lemony fresh. Not exactly a great month for the budget, but we will be okay its just a little nerve racking.

Then there are the kids and this is one of the really tough things. I want them to really enjoy all that land life has to offer them for these last 10 months. With Mark pouring his heart and soul into Ceol Mor and me running kids to and fro, this means we have a lot of "divide and conquer" going on. I keep telling myself that we are counting down to possibly more togetherness than either of us want (ha!) but it can be a little lonely trying to play Mighty Mom Of Suburbia on your own.

Mark gets to feel chuffed when he redoes, say the plumbing on the boat. Anyone who has owned a boat applauds his Herculean efforts on the boat and every project he completes is met with a  "WOW! Awesome work!" from the folks who see his work. Any mom trying to be full on Super Mom knows that no matter how good a job you do, nobody gives you high fives. I know the girls are doing well so that is thanks enough but it does contribute to making this final countdown feel a bit tough at times.The kids are doing great and are engaged, busy and happy but I have this weird 'in flux ' feeling going on. I am not really connected with everything going on in suburbia because we are leaving. Its this really bizarre feeling of being here, but at the same time NOT being here. It is existing some place in between,

Its not a place of sadness. Nor is it a place of disappointment or anxiety. Its just this really strange place to be. In all of the writings I have read, I've never seen anyone discuss how weird it is to be neither here nor there in the last year. In one on one conversation, it seems that EVERYONE has this feeling. They just never talk about it. Not certain exactly why, but there it is.

So we are rolling into 2014. 2014, the year that we will no longer be living in the in between but will be actively cruising. I am looking forward to it more than I can say. Not just because we have been actively pursuing this for over 4 years now but because it will mean that I will be living a little more in the here and now. And that is the whole point of this adventure.

What was that sound? That was October whizzing by...

If you want to, you can find beauty anywhere. Even in a rainy rush hour drive home...

I knew months ago that October was going to be crazy. I just maybe did not appreciate how absolutely insane things could get.

My October has been chock full of me juggling. About 16 balls at once. There has been very little boat action on my part this month but there has been me being homeroom craft leader for Kitty's class, getting Maura to after school activities literally every.single.day.Kitty has taken up dance and sadly, can not yet drive. Maura is deeply involved in her singing and volunteer work and again, another non-driver so its up to me to get her where she needs to be. My vocal student load has doubled, I agreed to play photographer for a birth (for a professional photographer. Talk about pressure!) and I spent days feverishly editing away, had one wedding that I had on the books a year ago that was a solid week of crazy. I'm hitting the gym in an attempt to up my strength so hoisting those sails is a bit easier. Keeping up the house and yard and planning my work schedule to get it ready to go on the market, getting rid of clutter and stuff to get ready to cruise, got sick for a dew days in there and oh, I got to be a single parent for a week while Mark was in France on business. Phew.

 Now you see why it's been quiet on the blog front. I really need about 2 hours of undisturbed time to myself to write and it just has not happened. I am committed to at least one blog post a month until the school year is out, but I'm not promising more. Come July when we are at the boat full time I will blather on more regularly about such exciting topics as deck hardware, refrigeration systems and anchors.

The kids and house are keeping me seriously busy. Its just insane right now and will be until July when we move away from the suburbs and to the boat for the last 6 month push to get ready to leave. In order to make this work for the kids, I agreed to let them soak up everything land based life in the US has to offer so that they do not feel they missed out on anything. It is exhausting, but we are trading time right now. Its their time now, when we finally leave they will still be my first priority but we are carving out  bit more time for Mark and I to accomplish our goals. They are going to love it and will be richly rewarded by the experiences, but the teen is a little reticent to leave what she knows. Reminding her when the time comes how we helped her accomplish her goals should go a long way towards allowing us to sail as a family with minimal grumbling.

While I have been juggling, Mark has been kicking butt. That week in France slowed his roll a bit but we FINALLY have a functioning generator. This has turned out to be the Mother Of All Projects but at long last, its done.

Mark being the meticulous, spread sheet loving man that he is of course writes everything down. When you look at the list, it looks so , so simple and easy.
Replumbed the seawater cooling plumbing to the common manifold with the main engine Mark designed.
Replumbed the fuel lines to the common manifold  with the main engine
Modified fresh water cooling circuit to include take off ports for connection to the hot water tank heating coil
Replaced impeller
Refurbished and installed injectors
Replaced glow plugs
Replaced fuel solenoid
Added cooling water bottle to take up excess expansion
Ran engine with Seafoam to reduce carbon build up.

Ok, that last item was simple and easy but that was the only part that went smoothly.

 Trying to source parts for an obsolete 30 year old generator is no small feat. Despite having the original part manual, the ordering and procuring of parts has been a bit like a scavenger hunt except instead of having a list of items you need, you have a list of items that have nothing what so ever to do with what you are actually looking for. You can either order the parts according to the number and pay a HUGE mark up (like 10 times) or you can try to find a part that is stocked absolutely no where in the world. So you get to try to find the manufacturers part numbers by hitting the online forums. This means you get to wade through page after page of posts that have nothing to do with the original question. Fast it is not but then again, we sail a monohull so speed had better not ever be a priority.

So it was a couple of months of utter pantomime. A comedy of errors if you will. Finding the parts, getting the parts, finding out the parts did not fit, removing the parts, sending them back and repeating the process. Worrying about the injectors being shot, ordering new injectors for spares and having the old ones refurbished. Installing the injectors and frying the control circuit fuses. Over and over.

Next we assume its the glow plugs, so replace those. No go. Have fun spending days trying to fault find an intermittent problem with the fuel solenoid. The trick here is to try not to cry when the fuel solenoid performs perfectly when the high pressure fuel lines are disconnected but fails when the fuel lines are hooked up in an attempt to start the engine.

And again with the crappy manual, which describes the solenoid as having 2 coils- a pull coil and a hold coil. Somewhere there is an evil technical writer laughing about this description since in reality the solenoid has a main coil and an auxiliary coil. (If you want to know why this is a problem, write Mark at Ceol underscore Mor at yahoo. Be warned, he says its very technical) and so on and so on.

So after dealing with this project for what seems like an eternity, we are pretty damned excited that we now have a functional generator and engine. I am also glad that despite what would be completely understandable circumstances, Mark did not become either completely insane or an alcoholic. It could have easily gone either way.

Also beautiful- a generator which works

Crossing an ocean sounds a heck of a lot easier and more enjoyable than the slog that was the generator refit. So, so glad that is over.

Generating some headaches...

You are on my list Mr. Generator and its not the Nice list

I like blog posts that neatly wrap up a topic into a tidy little page. I am not a fan of the "to be continued" type of storytelling. This is the reason you've not heard much lately, because the big project right now is still dragging on and on and on. Our generator is generating some serious headaches.

Our current decor theme on Ceol Mor, piles of tools every where

Our generator probably dates back to the original commissioning of Ceol Mor, most likely sometime in early 1985. Due to the fact that Ceol Mor was largely a dock queen, there are only 1200 hours on it. A well cared for diesel engine will probably outlive most people, so we thought rectifying the fact that we were dealing with sooty exhaust would probably be fairly quick and painless.

Yeah. After almost 3 years of refitting we are either eternal optimists or just really naive. Suffice it to say, that there has been a whole lot of us Cha Cha-ing with the generator. 2 steps forward, 3 steps back and not a whole heck of a lot of progress. It's annoying both Mark and I so much that I am not even going to get into all the dance steps we have taken thus far but will save it until the project comes to a conclusion. Then we will not only have a functional generator but a neatly wrapped up, tidy blog post as well. It will be like freaking Christmas.

Rather than get schmoopy about what hasn't gone right, I'm going to happily blather on about a project that has gone right. Ceol Mor now has the ability to be hooked up to a dock water hose and wonder of wonders, to have dockside water at the flick of a tap.

Never mind the construction dust, WATER!

Mark plumbed it all in, cut into the coaming (cutting any holes in the boat always freaks me out. Even ones well above the water line) and installed an outlet, plumbed some more and voila! WATER!!!

Yet more tidy plumbing

The naysayer in me would point out that we are unlikely to be tied to many docks while out on our cruise but its a function that was missing and since we are tackling the plumbing, might as well get it done. Lest you think it was all a perfect project, there were a couple of fittings that had to be removed, replaced and adjusted to rectify some leakage but all in all, a fairly straight forward project. Thank you Universe, for balancing out the stupid generator.

The fully functional, well plumbed inlet for dock water

September has come and passed and while work on the boat has been slow, the kid project has been zipping along at a blistering pace. I am just now starting to get a handle on our school year schedule and I have to say that I am really looking forward to homeschooling as it will be easier on me.

Maura's schedule literally has me ferrying her to activities every week day. She is really throwing herself into making the most of what should be her last year of public school. And while I love her enthusiasm, this would be much, much easier if she could drive herself. It's hard to complain because for the most part, she is just becoming a really helpful and grateful person so I just shut up and drive.

Kitty has started preschool. She is going 2 days a week and she absolutely adores it. Even though this means that the 2 days following school consists of her being totally and completely exhausted, its all worth it when she pipes up "I have school today! I LOVE SCHOOL!". So it makes for a bit of a challenge trying to adjust to the new schedule but its totally worth it.

Speaking of Kitty, can I just say how much fun a 3 year old is? To be sure, they are probably the most challenging age but she is just so darned fun it all balances out. Today, Kitty was deliriously happy because it actually rained. We've been in a drought for so long I think she thought rain was something that only happened in the movies. Today, it rained and she had her zebra boots to wear in the puddles, an umbrella to shelter her as she walked around saying "Tut tut! It looks like rain" while wearing her Supergirl dress. Kitty likes to dress for an event EVERY day but this Supergirl dress is currently her most favorite thing ever. She insists on wearing it every.single. day.

No matter how manky it gets ( I have to sneak it into the wash) it will always make me happy that she believes that when she puts her Super Kitty dress on every morning, it means she is going to work. To save the world. 3 year olds rock.

Jewelry Schmewlry. Hardware a girl really wants...

I know lots of women who think that nothing says 'I love you' quite like a nice piece of jewelry. I like jewelry as much as the next girl, but this week I got an even better materialistic representation of Mark's adoration of me. Houston, we have a water heater. Those of you who are living on land with access to plentiful water at the flick of a tap, dispensed immediately at your desired temperature might not understand my glee at this most recent development, but my fellow boat babes will understand. Testify my sisters! Having the ability to heat water without the use of a tea kettle and stove is pretty darned luxurious living. I can't wait until it is all plumbed in. Yes, I will still be forced to wet down, turn off the tap, lather up, then turn on the taps to shower in an effort to keep our water usage to a minimum but that little spray of water will NOT be cold. This is awesome.

 I was so excited at the prospect of getting this on the boat I did not even mind the fact that I looked like a Clampett family member transporting this huge box in the passenger side of my mom's tiny little car. (My car is in the shop in an attempt to keep the Hoopty running for just one more year....) Kitty was disappointed that such a huge box did not contain something a bit more exciting. She was convinced that such a large box must contain something really amazing and you could see the disappointment on her face when I told her that while said box did not contain a pony, it had something even better- a water heater. Maura also seemed a little dubious as to the awesomeness of said water heater. I think I will let them shower in cold water for a bit so that later they can have an appreciation for how awesome our little Iso Temp really is.

We took break from making template patterns for the forward cabin seat cushion (me, messing up my first attempt) and from redesigning the engine exhaust system (Mark) to rectify what we think are serious design flaws to kick it around the docks with the kids.

Kitty's favorite place to go in all of Kemah is Kemah Hardware. Fortunately for her, they carry so many of the copper fittings, epoxy, etc, that she is pretty much assured of regular trips. This time she was beyond excited because in addition to some copper fittings, we were going to acquire a crab net of her very own and promised to take her crabbing. Mark, thinking he knew better than I- despite never having crabbed in his life insisted that what Kitty needed was a tiny bait net. I knew it wouldn't work but I let it go because Kitty was so jazzed about having a net of her own I couldn't bear to steal her joy.

After procuring the requisite chicken legs (how is it you can no longer buy just the necks anywhere? Galveston Bay- you have changed) we went off with bucket in hand to get to crabbin'. Mark thought all this production would be a waste of time. "You will never catch a crab" he said. "Check my birth certificate" I said. "Hello..SEABROOK NATIVE. I guarantee we will catch a crab. I spent endless hours playing around this bay as a kid and while it was too murky for swimming there were crabs a plenty. Galveston Bay=crabs.I am like the crab whisperer. I'm all Deadliest Catch on Galveston Bay. Trust me." I informed him knowingly.

So off we went. We did not manage to land a crab because I timed it wrong and the tide was coming so our crabs kept getting knocked off the line before we could attempt to net them. I should add that after seeing the inadequacy of his preferred net, Mark went off and added an extension. I didn't mind because I was able to smile the satisfied smile of the correct. Of course, Mark got all Captain Perfecto on us and the extension is a bit more finely crafted than mine would have been but its all good. Kitty can not wait to go crabbing again and she really hopes to land one next time. Maura is happy just to kick it around the water and I am just happy to get to spend a little bit of time with them all wasting time in pursuit of crabs. Soon enough, I shall be able to introduce the girls to the fun of crab drag racing.

Dubious Mark

Now a believer, Mark tried to bring the crab along the dock. I told him it wouldn't work, he did not listen. The crab let go. Hello- listen to the crab whisperer next time. Pull up slowly, scoop quickly. Be one with the crab...