Nineva

I was wondering what "sack cloth and ashes" look like in today's world?  I've know people who have made big changes work by changing their life style, they suddenly don't seem the same. Even if a really close friend, or family member decides to diet and really hits the behavioral stuff hard I don't know them like I used to....do we sometimes sabotage these efforts in others for our own comfort. 

When my oldest dumped his awful trashy CDs I was thrilled. He has a family and from time to time they make changes in their life style (most recently canceling cable tv) my grands only watch Netflix or YouTube lol. 

I have another friend who just up and quit the Thrift Shop and everyone flooded her with pleas to return and she disappeared even more. Finally in a private talk she told me the place was becoming an occasion of sin....wow there is a term I haven heard in a long time. indeed she was right, the place has a tendency to become a hen house and nasty gossip can thrive quite well.

I'm looking for what I'm being called to do for lent. I realized the other morning I get all my life from Jesus Christ. All of it so I spent the day looking at everything from that point of view. I don't know if I will change much permanently. Old bad habits die hard. But I am trying to sit less, walk more, stick to my yoga commitment ( still not doing as well there as I had hoped) I miss you friend. Have a lovely lent.

Love Cindy
Have a lovely day, 


Cindy Balfour
Cindybalfour100@gmail.com
Sent from my iPad

Count my blessings

It's the Fourth of July and it's raining.

So I haven been keeping this blog up very well.  I do occasionally read other blog writings but if they are eloquent and perfect I feel like I don't need to be blogging.  But I read one today and realized it isn't about perfection but about voice. I just need to find mine. It isn't about writing on only one topic but a about what is the topic of my heart that day.

So lonely might be the word today. Missing people,  my friends and family in Tx.  I can call on the phone but it isn't really the same. So maybe learning to be with myself is my issue. So to be positive, I count my blessings.

 Today I think I will update the Alaska cruising trip.

We left Ketchikan under motor Monday June 30 and went to Kasaan. We did sail some out in Clarence strait.  The rest of that day we sat at the dock and went out occasionally to speak to the local fisherman    ( David salivates at the chance to do this, I'm more reserved ) We walked into town Tuesday morning and were lucky to meet up with a fellow named Stormy who gave us the low down on where to go and what to look for. We didn't need a map because the place was very small and basically had a path and a street. We found things right where he told us they would be. The carving shed, the totem poles, the Chief Son-I-hat long house, also known as the Whale House. Even in the state of disrepair these things are amazing. I imagine whose hands touched them, what the carvings meant or mean, (and I am no good at figuring this out).

These people of the organized village of Kasaan mostly live off the land. They go fishing and come in and share their catch with everyone, even with us. We traded beer for fish. Then we were invited to a            home where a young Haida woman showed us the foods she had put up from last year to this year.   She gave us tastes of things whale blubber, and smoked coho and told us great stories about her cousins, siblings and parents. She tried to describe sea asparagus but I am not sure we could find it...so she gave us a jar she had put up along with Salmon berries and frozen fish.  Her beautiful long red hair and blue eyes were a constant distraction to me as I am incorrectly indoctrinated that native Americans are all dark hair and dark eyes.

I don't know a lot about any of the tribes up here. I'm learning. It is obvious there are politics and opinions.

I haven't met a more generous group ever. If you are sailing in Alaska visit the Haida in. Kasaan

I read this today, "You probably know what you have been afraid to entrust to God". Well of course, but the real question is why am I afraid? Why do I want to hold on to anything at all.

" When we surrender our fear, we are offering it to Jesus. We are saying, “This fear is too much fear for me to bear. I give it to you because I believe you are good and worthy of my trust.” When we actively, by faith, lay down our fears at the feet of Jesus, we pick up his love in return. It is an uneven trade, a heavenly exchange…"

It is an almost unbearable lightness, a heavenly bungee jump!

"Laying down what we want to protect or are afraid of losing or are terrified we will never have is not the same thing as losing those things. It is surrendering them" .

Laying it at the feet of Jesus.


" It is opening up our clenched hand around them and allowing God access to them and to us."

Oh but first I need to identify them honestly.....that may be where the game is played, in my subconscious thoughts. First I need to ask Him what it is I am holding back. Then only after I have walked through all those piles of stuff, then only then I can surrender

"It is actually saying yes to God for them. "
Yes to my children, and the choices they make that I don't like, specifically why do they want to own guns and weapons, why a motorcycle, why keep eating ridiculous amounts of food and not even trying to exercise?

"I can sayYes to his plan. Yes to his way. It is believing that just as his ways are higher than the heavens are above the earth, so his way for the things we fear for is higher."


For my grandchildren are they watched closely enough, do they have enough freedom, are they being allowed to be creative, are they safe, are they fearful, how will I endure missing them? What if I don't see them again?

"This God of ours is a God of life, of goodness. He is the God of the Resurrection. We lay down our fear".

Face Everything And Recover.....

"We pick up Jesus. He is the only way we can live beyond fear. He is the Way."

Notes about Port McNeil and beyond

We have left Port McNeill, which I have to say is one of the nicest stops we have ever had the pleasure to make.  If all marinas were this clean and nice and easy to negotiate we would make more effort to stay in them.    You no doubt noticed the wifi was rockin, we all got caught up with correspondence.  

Sunday May 11, This is the last leg of our journey where we will be on the east side of Vancouver Island. (Inside Straights) Tomorrow early, like 6:30 am, we head across the Queen Charlotte Straights around Cape Caution to Fury Cove off Penrose Is. This is a real calculation since waves can be high and wind can be either helpful or horrible. We will be up against the middle to upper coast of Canada and there are many barrier islands but weather wind and wildlife are much more abundant up there.

Mid way along the sun has come out and while it is really cold on the front of the boat it is just wonderful on the back porch area. We have been putting the jib sail up, off and on to see if it helps us move faster. The guys really like doing this....see picture!

It is neat how fast a leg of the journey can pass when there is sunshine. As we approached Port Alexander, 3 Dalls porpoises joined us and were swimming and playing ahead of us when suddenly they were diving in front of the hulls and jumping out of the water like they were saying hi! They were zig zagging all over...then as quickly as they came they were gone.

Once we had anchored in Alexander Harbor It was time to re organize the charts and guide books, put away those from Vancouver Is, desolation Sound and The Broughtons, and to take out the ones that will move us beyond 50' 53.374" north bound  for Rivers Inlet, Fitzhugh Sound and Calvert Island.

Now we are anchored and resting. No phone service no surprise. And yes I know all the anchorages are starting to look alike.... Lol I'll take a sunset shot tonight.




Oh!
Just a note, we were visited by a bald eagle around 6:00 p.m. as we were preparing dinner, he came and sat and posed in a tree about 200 yards away. We might not have noticed except he did a fly by first and the screech they make is becoming recognizable. We have seen many of them this year so far. Hopefully they dignify blessings.

We are now waiting for a weather report on waves and wind for tomorrow.





Monday morning bright and early, the sun starts it's day around 5:40 so at 5:30 there is light...

Anyway we got a favorable weather report, light winds fairly calm seas and favorable currents with an ebb that would push us up away from Vancouver Island...so we grabbed a cup o coffee pulled anchor and headed out.

It has been raining but the seas are only 1-2 feet. That said it was enough to disguise a flotsam of logs until we were right up on it. A few bumps , nothing too serious. Thank the good Lord!

We basically set a course ( for those who like to google) from Pine Is BC.  WNW to Cape Caution then a slight turn to Egg island BC we passed storm islands to the west and came only within 3 miles of Cape Caution. 

By 10:30 am the ebb has started turning to flood and we are hoping it will push us N NE into Fitzhugh Sound.  Lots of water moves during the tidal changes so it is imperative to have a tide and current reference for this area.

Port McNeill IGA was great for provisioning, lots of goodies for this passage. Crackers, hummus, cream cheese, peanut  butter.

Remember every day of the trip

Wednesday April 30 left Port Angelis Wa check in with Customs in Sidney,
Some shopping for fruit and veggies and dinner at a Greek restaurant .

Thursday May 1 Sidney to Princess cove anchorage. Beautiful spot and we took a nice walk.

Friday May 2 Nanaimo beautiful sunset did laundry. Harbor ok lots of sea gulls facilities far apart require loonies and tokens. Beautiful sunset after afternoon shower. Great pictures.

Saturday May 3 ballet cove. Very small private rain

Sunday May 4 Lund hotel. Arrived at 3 sat around only to find things were closed by 5. Got up early for breakfast at Nancy's gf muffin. Dinner sat night Lund hotel fish and chips.

Monday May 5 Tuesday May 6 desolation sound. Very pretty, crisp clean looking. Totally alone first day. Two other boats arrived Tuesday really enjoyed dinghy rides to other islands. We didn't get out to walk we found out Tuesday there was a walking trail on the land on side of Melody cove.

Wednesday May 6 headed north and stopped on Cortes island at Squirrel cove. Bought fish and some veggies. Beautiful stopover.

Thursday May 7 the first round of narrows going north through desolation sound into the Broughtons. Stopped in Cordero cove.

Friday May 8 passed second Narrows and did a marathon run to Port Hardy. We stayed two nights beautiful weather. Nice marina. David bought way too much fishing gear.

Sunday May 11 weather reports had us heading out to stage at Port Alexander for crossing Queen Charlotte Straight on Monday. This is the last leg of our journey that will be on the east side of Vancouver Island. Tomorrow early like 6:30 am we head across the queen Charlotte Straights around Cape Caution to Fury Cove off Penrose Is. This is a real calculation since waves can be high and wind can be either helpful or horrible.


Right now the sun has come out and while it is really cold on the front of the boat it is just wonderful on the back porch area. We have been putting the jib sail up, off and on to see if it helps us move faster. The guys really like doing this....


Monday May 12 crossed Queen Charlotte straight. Went north around cape caution...Rainy 2-3 ft seas not terrible. We were glad when it was over and we anchored in Fury cove.


We arrived about 1:00 pm we started at 6:00 am. It wasn't a bad crossing. Seas never went above 3feet but we did get a period of about an hour with cross chop. That meant you braced yourself well and held on tight and walked around only when necessary.


Fury Cove really is beautiful, and at least 5 other boats agree. This is the first time this year we have seen this many boats at anchor at the same place.

It is 51' and raining.  In honor of a great successful crossing we had Tomato soup and Grilled Cheese sandwiches.

Now unfortunately Dave has to perform yet another open head surgery. We went 7 days without a clog. That is a huge improvement.

Tuesday May 13. Overcast and nearly 60' but no rain. Big smile!

We have been enjoying the flood pushing us up they Fitzhugh sound, radio on as required, and listening in on a group of boats about a mile or so west of us who are traveling in the same general direction. One skipper is quite knowledgable and gives interesting tid bits. One of which is to keep an eye out for humpback whales. So far we have only seen a small Holland America cruise ship "Volendam". Even though it looked like it was hardly moving, It kicked up quite a wake.

It's quiet on our boat, David is taking engine temps and checking amp readings constantly on the batteries trying to decide if things are calibrated the way he was told.  Larry is writing his notes on the journey, I have been on and off watch a few times, and marking times we passed waypoints. These are usually little concrete light house shaped things painted white and red and often they have a blinking light that is hard to see in the daytime.


The winds are starting to come up on our nose making it hard to keep up speed and too direct to get help from the sails;  and the tide has shifted so the current will soon be trying to push us backwards. Must be time to find a cove and anchor, the one we have picked out is called Kisameet. Tomorrow we head past  "Evan's" inlet to Ocean Falls where it is rumored they have internet.


May 14
Ocean Falls is just charming. It is an old cannery town abandoned when the cannery business pulled out. There is no road to Ocean Falls, cruise ships will occasionally stop here. They have a huge hydro electric dam and make the power for the central island area.

May 15-16-17 shearwater Bella Bella leaving early the 17th.


Sometimes we forget! Nature is Gods paintbrush His illustration, not a wish for our genie in a bottle.

We enjoyed 4days of drenching rain from Shearwater to Prince Rupert. Fortunately it is sunny now. We may be leaving in the morning to go to Dundas is to get ready to cross Dixon Entrance ( another of those crossings with a view of Canada on one side and Japan on the other) on Monday morning.
May 24 2014
While in Prince Rupert we checked out the British Columbia museum and went to a Salmon Feast being put on by the local Indian tribes. It was excellent eating. We learn from them every time we get to do this.
Turns out we went left Prince Rupert early on Sunday and passed up Dundas island and went straight to Foggy Bay. What a pretty little anchorage.

Ketchikan

Ketchikan is an interesting place, it's called Alaska's first city because it is the customs check in for anyone arriving from Canada. It is a fishing boat dominated town, located in a rainforest but also heavy with cruise shop traffic which is confined mostly on the south end of town. There are a few hidden treasures for folks who don't salivate at the opportunity to walk endlessly through souvenir shops. The SE Alaska museum is wonderful as is the Tongass museum.The Rain Bird rainforest walk maintained by SE Alaska Univ, is excellent, with grand views of Tongass Narrows...fortunately we had on good walking shoes and charged phones for pictures.  The Water Street trestle walk was also worthwhile. 

We made this trek starting from our north end location at Bar Harbor Marina with our goal being the Totem museum ( time well spent).  We started all this walking down Tongass avenue but got tired of the traffic so we cut uphill at Elliott street to walk the water street trestle where we saw neighborhood living with a view.  Once in town near the cruise ship docks we did a quick twist to get us over to Creek Street where we lingered and shopped awhile. We walked a short way along Tongass ave. again heading south out of town before making the turn uphill to the Totem Museum, Fish hatchery and city park. We grabbed food at the IGA and made an urban picnic in Ketchikan city park. After eating and seeing the museum we walked along the creek as far as we could before heading off Schoenbar Road to the RainBird Forrest walk. We ended up right back at our harbor, dirty and tired but happy.


The local people are friendly, happy, and very polite.  Everyone works hard and there is a sense of adventure in most everyone eyes. You meet lots of folks at the laundromat....The people who love being here stay. 

to see spring

Spring has sprung, sure...but not so fast! 

There is nothing more tentative than Spring in Central Texas. 

It slides into our calendar on dotted lines, sometimes as early as January. 

February and March are littered with reminders that we need all manner of clothing handy at a moments notice. 

Then there is the lull of April, some rain, some sun , a string of very warm muggy days and away go the heavy coats and long pants , hello shorts, and tank tops. 

As usual there needs to be one more reminder that we are never certain. A possible freeze the week before Easter, and a very late Easter at that...

To believe in miracles

Jesus said tell no one until the Son of Man rises from the dead....he was speaking less of the calendar and more of our hearts. If we do not carry the miraculous story of our risen savior in our hearts than we cannot speak about him.

Philip Morrison shared in his Encouraging Words.... Do You Believe in Miracles?

The life that began with a miracle and ended with a miracle became a ministry filled with miracles. From turning water into wine at Cana in Galilee, to several miracles of healing the sick, to the feeding of 5,000, then of 4,000, to walking on the water, to cleansing ten lepers, to raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus’ ministry was filled with miracles. Though some scholars count forty miracles, most agree that Jesus performed thirty-seven miracles or approximately one per month for the three years of his ministry. All the miracles were impressive to those who witnessed them, but sometimes explained away by those who only heard about them.

Lord I do believe, help my unbelief.

to navigate

I borrowed segments from the lenten Magnificat, today.my reactions  today

A flatterer never seems absurd: the flattered always takes his word.  Too much flattery makes me suspicious but just enough is like a tiny drop of poison in every vat of wine.

A Prophet always seems absurd: those to whom he prophesies always reject his word" Flatterers are popular because they say what people want to hear. I have a harder time here, because as I grew up, with absent parents,  I learned to listen to every warning and brace myself, maybe going overboard...I now almost instnctively ponder prophesies awhile or I believe every one. not all are true.

Flatterers avoid difficult truths because they are unwilling to risk rejection. yes yes yes

With Flatterers around we lose the potential for conversion.  hmmm ok yes, maybe so

When I put truth first, I can put relationships first, truth is the foundation to meaningful relationships. OK now we are in, (as the techies say) this is very nitty gritty, hard, I don't know how to navigate this...

When we think we know what God will say it is because we project into him our own idea of what we need to hear from Him.  I am realizing here this works both ways, if I decide God is telling me what I want to hear, or if I feel God is rejecting me all the time.

When we search out the truth it makes demands of us. And the journey begins

Reread this from church web site

God speaks to us today from the clouds. “This is my beloved Son… listen to Him.”  We need to listen to Jesus as if our very life depended on it, for this is where our life comes from. When we are on an airplane and everything is going well, most of us ignore the safety instructions before the flight, but when the plane starts bouncing around and the little masks drop, you better believe we all wished we had paid more attention. The same is true of our lives. When all is going well for us, we show up on Sundays and let the Word pass through our heads. Instead of saying with our whole heart, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening,” we say with our pre-occupied minds,“Speak, Lord, and your servant will think it over.”  But when life begins to get rough, we start praying and asking God for help, for peace, for the joy we once thought we had. Jesus is speaking to us every day, in His Word, in scenes of violence from the Middle East, in the face of the homeless person we meet or in the stories of a close friend. He is telling us that He gave His life so that all of His children can live in the kingdom of joy and peace today, right now, if only we will turn away from ourselves and turn to Him. He speaks to us to tell us to let go of the crosses we create for ourselves, whether it’s turning 50 or 70, whether it’s the love of possessions or love of power; turn from these burdens we place on ourselves and embrace the joy and peace of feeling absolutely loved, not for what we look like or what we have, but because we are children of a loving God full of mercy and forgiveness. Take time this Lent to listen to Him. He speaks everywhere, but we are so wound up in ourselves we rarely hear. Come into His presence in the Blessed Sacrament and spend some quiet time with Him.  Train your ear to listen for His voice and perhaps you will find you can learn to hear Him all day long as He says with each heartbeat, “Love you.”

Drink up?

We are thirsty women, and that is a very good thing. It may not be comfortable, but it is good. If you aren’t aware of your hunger, you’re not very motivated to go to the banqueting table. If you aren’t aware of your thirst, you don’t seek something to drink…
In our world, we are barraged with options as to how to quench our thirst. We are buried in advertisements and information and suggestions and ideas and products and programs and have you heard the latest? Catalogs and flyers are felling forests to offer an answer to our ache, to assuage our thirst.
I have tried a lot of them. I’ve bought the shoes, read the book, done the study, and attended the program. I’m still thirsty. Scientists warn that the ability to be aware of and respond to thirst is slowly blunted as we age. In a world that oftentimes feels as dry as a desert, we can become numb to our own thirst. 
But as women who are being transformed into the image of Christ, we don’t want to grow numb but increasingly thirsty. I’ve tried to assuage my thirsty heart. I still need something to drink. I need the Living Water himself. So do you. It is our most precious fundamental need. Jesus invites, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink” (John 7:37 NIV 2011) from Stasi Eldridge, Becoming Myself Today.      



Yesterday in the middle of our set up for the Ladies of Charity volunteer appreciation luncheon, I kept noticing how horribly thirsty I was. There was so much to attend to many hands together were accomplishing much. There were many small details to tweak. When finally there I saw it, the drink table where I consciously stopped and asked for a glass of water. How similar this event is to life. I struggle with only part of who I can be when I don't stop for the living water every day. I have renewed respect for the things available to renew me, to offer a drop of water to my parched soul. Daily Mass, A piece of music, a prayer,  a reading from sacred scripture, a  friends posting a verse, a reflection like the one here. 

Know me

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?" Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us . . . And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. (Marianne Williamson)

The first time I heard this quote repeated it was attributed to Nelson Mandela, he had quoted it in a speech he gave to the people of So Africa. It was many years before I learned who it was correctly attributed to.
The words might as well have been scripture for their ability to cut to the center of me. I know exactly where I was standing when I heard them who said them and what the wether felt like. I couldn't stop pondering what it really meant to each one of us as children of God. I felt humble and called and confused.

When I was younger in a career, working like some kind of manic machine driven soul, on occasion I would hear of someone leaving saying they were cutting back to be with their family, or because they were sick. I would feel a stab at the center of who I was, because I often had to push off anger toward them thinking they were now making more work for the rest of us. The truth was they were empowering me. The work I did was important but not so vital that I couldn't stop. Once I realized the work would still be there and didn't require me, I stepped into the next pit and fell prey to my own promises, working myself into delirium wanting to be known for my great integrity.  The vortex continues and I got sucked in again.

The key maybe is to be involved and giving freely and in that letting our light shine. Who are we indeed, born to manifest the Glory of God that is manifest in us. I am a poem being written by The creator Himself as the present need dictates, I am not a five year plan, or a percentage to be increased.  Blessed are the meek, the peacemakers, the children of God, for the earth they inherit will be filled with the fruits of the Holy Spirit, love Joy Peace Patience, Goodness Kindness, Gentleness, Faithfulness and Self Control, the Self Control to smile and say no.

I thought I had this figured out than I read this from God's teaching to St Catherine of Sienna: 

The same is true of many of my gifts and graces, virtues and other spiritual gifts, and those things necessary for the body and human life. I have distributed them all in such a way that no one has all of them. Thus I have given you reason – necessity, in fact – to practice mutual charity. For I could well have supplied you with all your needs, both spiritual and material. But I wanted to make you dependent on one another…

So, we are designed with a fundamental need for one another. Humility, mutual dependence and charity, are absolutely necessary for our spiritual growth; they are absolutely necessary for us to overcome serious spiritual challenges. Our culture, fueled by the lies of the enemy, militates against these holy needs and seek to replace them with the anti-virtues of pride, independence, and hyper-individualism. These anti-virtues coupled with fear and vanity have locked up and destroyed many people of good-will who simply would not reach out and get help with the challenges they face.

Jesus said that He came to give us life and that more abundantly. Reach out for that life that he offers to you. Don’t settle for less. Get the help you need.

Soften up

If today you hear God's voice harden not your hearts: Psalm 95



Oh Lord, I have been duped, yet again. and not because anyone more clever than I blinded me. I was duped because I chose to be lazy, I chose to ignore those little twinges and voices you send out when a faulty persuasion or argument is in progress. I chose a human way, my way, also known as a hard heart.

As a mom so long ago, I learned to listen to my "mom intuition",  sometimes by trial and error but I got pretty good at knowing when my kids were pulling something. I shared my experiences with other parents and listened to them to benefit from their experiences. I knew then not to ignore those signals, the life of my children might actually depend on it. It was a formula that seemed to work.

So why do I fall prey to feeble logic and ignorant arguments, now when the situation is maybe a bit less personal why do I ignore those internal signals. where is my formula?

All truth is in You Lord, all truth. All love is found in you, Lord, and only in you
I must always remind myself misuse of facts can indeed cloud what I know is truth and how I must love.

I have a dear sister who rarely commits to popular opinions but always turns to her daily scripture and faithful friends for guidance.  I wonder if I can ever come to embrace a daily commitment, not for the joy of completing bible study programs because I have stacks of them, but for my daily self.

Isaiah tells us that Jerusalem rose and fell over her people remembering to pray, and worship God, like all humanity their values were held strong one second and traded for the popular whim in the next. But when they returned to God, The Way started to straighten.


So the question is, through prayer and scripture will I be strong enough to listen to and follow the right instincts placed in me by God. Perhaps,
If I do not harden my heart.

learn from my daily

I did not write this: but I can learn from it.

the source is Ransomed Heart Ministries who still includes me in the daily reading list even tho I have never sent them a dime.

I used to spend much time griping that things just weren't right, why cant I trust anyone to do the right thing to be the bigger man. why because we are fallen all of us.

How do I assimilate this and not get depressed? because there is hope, depressed is where the broken world lies. hope lies in my moments of prayer, worship, and trusting God.

Things are not what they were meant to be. East of Eden, we have kept moving east and come all the way ’round, finding the garden utterly lost and cruelly unrecognizable. We were all born into this world. We came in gasping for air, and we are gasping still. It’s a tough place to make a living, a hard place to make a life. Fire and ice. Beauty and terror. Pain and healing. Intertwined.

The good news is that Life wins out. Life has already won out. Love has won out. But the battlefield remains where we find ourselves, and the setting of the battle is a world that fiercely hates women. God loves women. Jesus loves women. The Enemy, the Devil, has women in his crosshairs.

Not a cheery thought but one necessary to face. Your life’s journey runs through unfriendly terrain. You knew this already. The smoke from the heavenly engagement going on all around us affects our watery eyes and our labored breathing like smog. With mortars flying, aimed at our heart, we need to name it. So much of the sorrow in our lives finds its roots in misogyny.

Figure things out

These past two months on the boat have been fun, and amazing, and at times frustrating.

I have enjoyed so much of this but always held a lonely spot inside me missing my grand children.

Mornings like this are fresh and quiet, damp and lately very cold.
Most days are of potential for where we will go next or what we will do that day
We really knocked out a lot of places maybe too many all at once.
Next summer we want to try and go to Desolation Sound and then explore islands up the inside passage until we make Alaska. I can't get excited right now, I just need to get home and see everyone.

Ill be more prepared, maybe, for pay showers, crazy laundry room set ups, and general stores that look like something my kids used to set up when they played store as children, bigger grocery stores that have prices through the sky with product names and ingredients written in French and English.

Sheesh. What will happen if I get someplace and can't read the language at all. David has been fairly demanding about food needs, it's hard to take time and learn the lay of a place when time is short and folks are expecting familiar goodies.

I keep thinking I'll just go to Costco and stock up everything so I don't have to worry about how to find stuff  while we are traveling.  I mistakenly thought retirement was going to be relaxing.
Silly girl.

Visit Shaw Island

It is so completely beautiful right now. The sun has presented the gift of warmth and we are parked out of the wind (and unfortunately the phone reception) and life out on the back porch is glorious.

We heard of. some whale sittings over the radio but we haven't seen any today. Yesterday there were several pods of porpoises playing around as we crossed to our destinations.


We spent last night at Rosario marina in Cascade Harbor, (Orcas Island) it was an amazing place very old but full of great amenities. We actually got to use the hot tub and take showers without quarters...there was a nice lounge with good draft and a guitar player named Robbie Christmas who could do nearly all of Eric Clapton's hits.

Nights have been quite cold sometimes even the days are as well. We met some really nice people at Rosario and learned about a small diesel powered heater Espar that we might be able to fit on our boat, that would make it so nice heading to Alaska next summer. The condensation inside the boat for now stays on the windows, but we have heard horror tales of the whole interior sweating making everything inside wet, that really becomes a problem in the cold up in Alaska . Either way We are definitely getting at least one electric blanket to warm up the bed before we get into it.

Across the bay is a beautiful dark red barn style home with bright red and gold trees around it. The seasons are very real here, even if the evergreens dominate there is still places you can find color.  The weather is supposed to dip below freezing this week. So tonight or tomorrow night ( oct 13-14) may be our last before we shoot across the Straight of Juan de Fuca  to Port Angeles. David can't quite bring himself to say goodbye to this cruise.


There seems to be no open Internet here right now on Shaw Is. I am writing this in draft for now, will send ASAP. The store here is closed Sunday's so tomorrow we will hopefully get there for milk. Some things never change. We are trying to get creative and make dishes that use what is currently in the pantry, it is challenging.

Where is that water coming from?

Words that strike fear deep in the heart of any boat owner, not unlike hearing a 2 year old saying "uh oh" from the next room, a preteen out side yelling "mom" in a panicked voice. Or your adult son calling and opening the conversation with "hi mom I need to talk to dad!"

Experience can be a great teacher but doesn't always perform as well as a preventer. Roof tops and boat bottoms hold the same mysterious ability to let water into the tiniest crack and send it on a circuitous route before it shows itself inside.

So far during this particular quest water has slipped in via the daggerboard cases, both rain water and sea water. Through the depth sounder that one was just plain scarey.  Through the prop shaft ( don't even ask) through several windows left open and one fixed window thought to be sealed.  Shower water has been caught sneaking into the bilge.... And at least one mystery place believed to be above the waterline, where water shows up intermittently, that is still under investigation.

We have coined phrases like nuisance rainwater, bilge condensation, window condensation ok almost any thing we are more than happy to attribute to condensation. I am happy to report we are learning to take this in stride, well sort of.

What day is it anyway?

It is cloudy and cold today, :( not too hard to take tho after the 2 glorious days we just had. The trip back from Princess Louisa only took 5 hours instead of the predicted 8 yay.  Back Eddy Marina is a nice " local" place, full of good people. Food at the local pub was very yummy.

The hope today was to walk up to Skookum Natrows where high tide brings rapids and there is a place up on the hills to watch the kayakers play in the water; but the current weather predictions of 30-40 knot winds for tomorrow mean we need to get out of here and head to Buccaneer Bay for the night and maybe all day Friday. Not leaving until Sat to get to Nanaimo. Not sure there will be wifi or phone service.
Hmmm I think today might be Friday, I'm really confused!

David has a yacht club friend ( Bay Peterson) coming into Nanaimo Sunday to spend 4 days with us heading to the San Juan's. 

People ask how many people the boat sleeps, the real question is how many "heads" do you have, reality check, folks can sleep just about anywhere. :)

David is now the headmaster, we are all chief poopas, rules say if you didn't eat or drink it it. Can't go in the head. Makes that window really handy....sorry but that's the way it is. Needless

 to say any chance we have to get off and use facilities we do.

This is Freddie Bonilla, a Seminarian from Columbia, he just finished his time in service to the parish St Mary's Star of the Sea.  What a privilege to have been present the day he was introduced to the parish and to again see him on the day he is saying goodbye. He played a tune on a flute, the tune and the flute are both from his area of Columbia. Freddie is now in Idaho serving in a hospital.

Fr. Ken Samson will be leaving too, the end of June, probably around the same time we leave Astoria. I first heard him speak on the feast of Immaculate Conception when we came up here to see the boat build as it was just starting.  I don't know why but to me it seemed at the time, like this was one of the first homilies to this parish.  He spoke of Mary as the Queen Mother, we as the bride of Christ owed it to our "mother in Law" to get to know her.

Every step of the way, in building the boat has been in Gods hands, I never really could wrap my head around the outcome, but now it is really very close.  Last Summer we were sure we would be out of here by September or maybe October that was 2012 it didn't happen.  Now it is May 2013... David took over full responsibility for the project finish when Johns business fell apart over the Christmas holiday.  David and Brad,  Mark, Russel and Dennis, have been the support and sustainer's for the boat paart of the project, the spiritual part of the journey has been supported by Father Ken and The Holy Spirit.

Too big to describe

Thursday,

A fellow pulled in yesterday and parked right in front of us, his boat was named "Some Luck"
He kept going on and on about the beautiful day, indeed it was, apparently this area is heading into a rainey season and people are milking the weather for all it's worth.

He joked it was hard to see that beautiful sky with all that 10,000 year old granite in the way, that cracked everyone up.
What indeed could hide the sky so magnificently but 10,000 year old canyon walls.


Another lady made the comment "I just didn't know that I needed to see this." Really true.





Chatterbox Falls. The noise from the water was huge, the spray went out about 100 yards past the bottom. Warning signs said do not try to climb the falls, 12 people have lost their lives trying to do just that. Hmmm I must be getting old because it never occurred to me to even try.




The boat is great, a few little issues but nothing is ever perfect. It is cold ......    David is doing a fabulous job as captain.  Larry is wonderful crew, he is often much more patient showing me how to do things. :).

Sunday we pick up another of David's yacht club friends Bay Peterson and his girl friend, Donna,  and sail for another week in the Gulf Islands and maybe down in the San Juan Islands (USA)

Yes you are welcome to come visit us on the boat next summer, we are probably heading home to Austin the end of October. We will be back to finish sailing the Canadian islands and maybe try to make it to Alaska.