Let's hope it was the last one of the season. We had almost four inches of wet sloppy snow yesterday, but at least there was no wind. The white stuff fell down all day and it looked as if someone had opened up a huge pillow in the sky and let all the feathers float softly to the ground and water. It was almost like an early spring snowfall, and since it was very wet all the trees and bushes looked like a fairyland. Pretty, but messy. Pacha loved it. She jumped and cavorted as if she were a pup once again. Of course, that didn't last long as her old joints quickly tired. This morning the snow is almost all gone and by afternoon there will be no lingering signs of the storm. Spring comes early and quickly in this area so close to the nation's capital, and with temperatures rising to the high forties and low fifties we'll see fresh new green in only a couple weeks. That also should herald the return of the "Weekend Warriors" and all the helter skelter madness that comes with the arrival of the new boating season. It will be fun to watch; it also will be fun to be one of the participants.

I'm getting ready for my trip to Toronto and will leave-arrive on Tuesday. I've had a frustrating change in my L.A. plans, so that trip will likely be delayed for about three weeks. That will also delay our getting started on work for the boat, but life will go on. It has been a hectic time since Anne returned compounded by the L.A. kifaffel, but we're pretty well sorted out now. The weather is about ready to show signs of spring, though we may get a bit of snow today or tomorrow. It's warm enough, though, so whatever comes down won't stick, and within a few days the temps will get back up to 50°, and then we're on our way. Meanwhile, we're making loose plans for the summer, fall and next winter and looking forward to whatever adventure may come our way. And guess what? When the sun comes out, they're playing golf here. That's a good sign.

My notebook has a keypad problem, and I'll be without it while it goes off to Texas for repair, plus I'll be on the road, so my blogging time may suffer. If I'm gone for a few days, have no fear, I shall return and share our new adventure.

The Bad Stuff has left us!! At least for the foreseeable future, we are into nicer, warmer weather. The boat was fairly comfortable when I went to bed last night but even better when I got up at 6:15. What a nice feeling not to have to throw on extra layers. Once again, Pacha slept in until 7:00, so my morning got off to a great start. Of course, not all is perfect. As we were running down the dock to get Pacha relieved I tripped and fell flat hitting my chin. Fortunately, there was no damage, only a sore chin and a bruised ego, and Pacha was more concerned about relief than running away. She further rewarded me by dropping her donuts along her favorite walking place.

The best news is my batchelor stint will be over this afternoon. It's been a cold ten day haul, but the break in the weather heralds my better half's return. She's had a difficult time trying to get everything done, and then on the way back got stopped for a "random check" at the border and got lost hunting for a hotel. One good bit for her as well, the weather has made the rest of the trip home much easier with no snow or even rain predicted. I'll be here for a week after she arrives, and then I'm off to the big TO for a few days. Following that, I'm headed for LA to do my bit to help out during family illness/recuperation. I'd much rather stay here and look out for home issues, but who knows, maybe I'll get to play a round or two of golf with nephews I haven't seen in years. Spring will have sprung by the time all this traveling is finished, and it will be time to look after much needed renovation and repairs.

Funny how quickly we put to the back of our minds the difficulties and problems of a few days ago when things start to improve and we get on the right track again. Now I'm warm and the past cold doesn't seem to have been so bad after all. I'm on the right track now and looking forward to the next five weeks, but the next seven days are the best of the bunch.

I must admit I was too cold to sit down and blog yesterday, and but for the gorgeous sun pouring in on my head right now I would have to have blogged out today as well. Cold? With the wind a blowin' I couldn't get any heat into this boat, and I was actually afraid I was aiming toward hypothermia. Not a good thing. However, I rallied and found a way to keep a bit warm with two heaters aimed right at me. It's actually a beautiful day here...if one has several layers on..not a cloud in the sky, but when the wind whifs at you, watch out, it's frostbite time.

Earlier today I braved the elements and took a bunch of pictures that are most unusual for this area. A large steel tug of around sixty-five feet had to use full power on both its engines just to get through the ice in the bay to get some fuel. It took close to an hour for them to break through to our marina from the bridge, and they weren't sure they were going to make it. All hands cheered when they made it to the fuel dock. Locals say they haven't seen a winter this cold in many years. I hope it's many years before they, and we, see another like it. I'll have to wait a few days before I post some of those pictures since my regular laptop is on the road, but I'll get them out to you soon. I finally found the warmest spot in the marina, the laundry room, and I spent a good hour there entertaining myself with a Ludlum novel and washing a few clothes.

This is the last of the really cold days with the forecast for considerably warmer tomorrow. I'm not in any real trouble, though. Check this out for lunch...jumbo shrimp cooked in sauteed onion with tomato and fish sauce over rice..yummm, and fresh green beans. I'm not starving, that's for sure. I must admit even with all the unusually cold weather, this area is still beautiful, and when it warms up it is unbeatable. I'll be off to L.A. in early March, so this blog will likely be blank during that time. Meanwhile, stay tuned, the excitement has hardly warn off.

This is not good, not here and not north and east from here. The baddy that was predicted is in the midst of doing its thing, and there's not much any one of us can do about it. I've battened down the hatches and will just wait the sucker out. There was ice everywhere when I took Pacha out at 5:30, and I can tell you we were careful. When Pacha on four legs is afraid to move too fast for fear of slipping, you can only imagine how wary I was, and there was no one around should a mishap occur. Even the dock had icy spots a warning of how treacherous the exposed area would be. I didn't want to get down on my all fours, though I must admit I was tempted. It's now close to noon, so we'll be venturing out again soon, and I can assure you we'll be careful. Meanwhile, my books are a comfort and a great way to pass the time until all this wintry mix of precipitation passes, and I'm eating my way through all my food supplies. One more week, and we should see some nice temperature improvements. Just as an aside, it's 61° in Beaufort, SC. Hmmmm..how long will it take to get down there? It's 608 miles. Bye.....

Aaaaarrrr,

BoatTed

Monday, Monday was not a bad day, but every other day may not be the same. Monday, Monday has passed, and Tuesday is not looking too good. The big storm from the midwest has arrived, and it's going to be a mess all along the eastern seaboard. We're just now starting to get the snow, and the forecasters are predicting a real winter precipitous mix, snow, sleet and rain, each rotating around for the next 48 hours. We'll not get it as bad here as in most other places such as Phil. and upstate NY, but it's likely the big event of the year. Even the maritimes will get quite a taste of this one..a bad biggy. Hopefully, this will be the last one for the winter, and we can get prepared for a decent spring. It looks as though that might be the case for Toronto and Ottawa where the temperatures are predicted to skyrocket a week from today. If that does occur, we'll see some major improvements in this area as well.

Closer to home, the new heater works pretty well and is a great improvement, so though it was purchased late in the wintry season I'm happy to have the warmth especially with the oncoming cold spell, and it runs on half the electricity the others use. Other than that, I'm the only one on the dock. Everyone else has run away to houses, condos and all sorts of other land accommodations. Pooh on them. Actually, it's quite pleasant without any disturbances or activity. I'm catching up on reading and doing some internal maintenance, and I don't have to feel guilty about not doing much. Label it as a welcome bit of R & R. There'll be plenty of time to get into the labor intensive stuff. I did fill the water tank yesterday just in case the cold weather that's predicted shuts off the outside water supply. We do have a neat trick to circumvent that problem, however. At the end of the dock there is a frost-free source, and we tap into that with a long hose that is primarily underwater except for the receiving and delivery ends. Usually, those ends are drained after each use, so we're able to hook up to the source with our own hose and fill the tank. It's a much better situation than I had in Midland, ON a number of years ago when I had to take 75 feet of coiled and frozen water hose to the local laundromat and put it in the drier to thaw it out and get rid of the ice. All the laundromat patrons thought I was completely nuts putting a spaghetti-like hose in the drier, but I said nothing and they just averted their eyes from mine. Mind you, when I did get the tank filled that time I used the water judiciously. Hmmmm, seems to me it was about the same time of the year but much colder than it is here. Now I'm off to fix a warm and tasty lunch. I had fresh from scratch tacos yesterday. Life is hard.

BoatTed

So what's been going on? Actually, quite a bit, but that has all settled down for a while. I'm alone for a few days while Anne takes care of business. She'll be in Ottawa while looking after all sorts of necessary stuff, then she'll have a couple nice nights in Montreal, also to look after business. For both of us it's a bit of a break, though she will be working and I will be looking after our floating palace. In the meantime, I've ordered a new Eden Pure heater, and magically it will arrive tomorrow. That's quite amazing considering I just ordered it on Thursday, and it had to be transported all the way from Michigan with no travel time on Sat. or Sun. Two others on this dock have this heater, and they report it uses only 750w but will comfortably heat a boat our size or larger. If that's true, our heating problems are over and just in time. A big storm is on the way and swirling down from central Canada bringing both snow and colder weather on Tuesday. None of that horrible weather is expected to get to Ottawa or even Toronto, so that's good news. The bad news is that the cold weather is predicted to be here at least until the end of the week. I sure hope the heater performs as advertised (by Paul Harvey, no less), so I can finally get a decent temperature in the boat, and my astronomical electric bills will be diminished. Pacha continues to get me up in the middle of the night, and I can't find a way to resolve that, though I keep trying. Hmmmm, sleeping pills anyone?

I've talked with one of my nephews regarding my trip to L.A., and it's likely I'll be leaving here close to the end of the month. I'll book for a two week stay. That should be enough time to get the family problem sorted out and also for me to perhaps sneak in a round or two of golf. At least one of my three nephews will almost certainly be there for a day or so while I'm there, and they also play golf. So while my visit there is necessary and serious, there may be a little lighthearted activity to ease the concerns and pressure of the trip. One other thought: By the time I get back from my trip, the weather should be downright pleasant here with nothing but improvement on the way.

There's little or nothing going on here, though we did have some activity when one of the boats on the dock started to sink. The marina people were notified and quickly resolved the problem. Lester, the slow moving fellow down the dock, has offered to take me anywhere I might need to go while I'm without wheels, so I needn't worry about running out of food. I've also stocked up pretty well and should probably be more concerned about gaining weight than going hungry. Well, maybe I could make a stop at Blockbuster and rent a couple movies just for diversion. Meanwhile, there's cable tv and golf, and I'm into a Ludlum book, "The Hades Factor," so I won't be bored. Additionally, there's always plenty of boat maintenance to look after coupled with DIY manuals that I have to study to bring my tech knowledge up to date. I'll get back to you when activity gives some news worthy of being passed on.

Aaaaaarrrr...Cap'n Ted

Yikes-Oh, Yikes-Oh. It was a cold one yesterday with only one redeeming factor, the wind was only at about 5mph. We were screamin' and hollerin' about that one with temperatures at their lowest in two years, about 14F (-9C). The water pipes on the boat had frozen, and it looked as if we would be having problems for a while. We had never expected it would get this cold. To hell with it..we took nice hot marina showers and then took off for Easton with Pacha (who is feeling better). We had a great lunch at Mason's and a nice talk about what we'll do for a warmer winter next year. We spent the afternoon in antique shops. When we returned, the pipes were still frozen, but the boat was almost comfortable. We'd put bilge lights on, but that had not done the trick. Of course, the main concern with frozen pipes is that they will burst when frozen, so we were crossing our fingers. We made the best of a very cold day.

This morning the meteorologist's prediction of an inch of snow came true (Pacha loves that), but the good news is OUR PIPES ARE NO LONGER FROZEN. Yeah for our side. It's still cold, but the snow has a bit of an insulating effect, and we can wash the dishes and our hands. Apparently all the pipes are okay, another big positive. I suppose we had just the right conditions, the bubblers, the lights in the bilge and no wind all helping to warm up the pipes enough to let the water flow.

It's not easy living on a boat in the very best of conditions. One must make enormous adjustments and compromises, but when the basic systems one depends on break down because of unexpected weather, it can become much more difficult just to get along. Somehow we are managing quite well and discussing ways to be more comfortable if we have to go through cold weather like this again. Of course, a good option is to move a little farther south next Jan. and Feb., but even that wouldn't have helped all that much this year with the cold mass going all the way down to Georgia and Florida being hit by tornadoes. Starting tomorrow the daytime temps will go above freezing and continue a slow climb. Will this be the last cold spell? We certainly hope so, but we'll deal with whatever comes.

There's not much new to add to yesterday's post, except that it's now verified that the next four days will be the coldest here in two years. What a comforting thought..literally..we'll be wrapping ourselves up in comforters just to stay warm. They are not predicting any snow..another slightly comforting thought, but they're talking about single digit figures, maybe as low as 9 deg. F (-13C). That's chilly whether you're up north or down south.

Super Bowl XLI is on today, though that won't affect us much. I'll check in just to see how it is going, but I don't care about the outcome. I'd rather watch an exciting golf tournament with
Tiger or Phil or both. Hurry up spring, it's downright freezin, too cold for the season. Cha Cha Cha.

...And so the work week comes to an end, kinda. There's still plenty to be done around here, though much of that is being hampered by the cold weather which keeps hangin' on. We now have the prediction that it will be unusually cold through next Wednesday, but perhaps there will be some moderating after that. We're sorting it out, though, by concentrating on local heating, one room at a time. "Room," that's an incorrect term, should be "Cabin." Whatever. By localizing we're able to stay quite comfortable, that is until the wind starts whipping up.

Pacha decided to get me up at 2:00 am, and for a good reason. After we returned from her necessary wanderings, she could sleep but I couldn't. Finally got back to sleep at 4:00. A boat is not the best place for a Siberian Husky, so we take it one day at a time and do the best we can.
She is feeling better and at times still shows the perkiness of old, though that doesn't last for too long.

Looks like I'll be spending a couple weeks in L.A. around the end of the month, though it won't be for pleasure. There's some illness in my family out there, so I'm obliged to hop on a plane and do my bit to help out. After I return I'll head on up to Canada and spend some time there. Of course, by that time winter will likely be gone and better weather will have arrived. It will be a fast six or seven weeks.

Happy February 1st. We're now only one month away from what is usually warmer weather in this area and some abating of the bad stuff. It's cold, but not nearly as uncomfortable as in my other stomping grounds. Unfortunately, the winter chill is not going to fade away without leaving a few more dead soldiers. It does not give up easily. Yesterday was a bear of a day with the wind whipping away most of the day. Around here it's not the temperature that gives us a problem, it's the wind, and there's no real way to windproof and old wooden boat though I've tried. This morning we woke up to a much warmer boat (no wind), and though a bit of snow is predicted there will be no wind.

New subject. My latest discovery (thanks to buddy Rob F) is SKYPE! No hype! Foote had not tried it but told me he'd been hearing it was pretty good, and it is. I've downloaded it, bought it for a year ($14.95 special) and now can make unlimited calls anywhere in North America, have 100 free minutes in Europe, then only 2.1 cents per minute after that. One has to use a headset, but I purchased a good one, and the results are really good. That's going to be very handy for us when we are on the road. Just plug the laptop into broadband and start making free calls. From what I can gather Skype is expanding and growing exponentially with over 8 mil callers on line at any given time. That's pretty astounding, given that they just started in 2003. Say hello to a couple new billionaires for putting together another better tech mousetrap.

On the home front, it's quiet here with one couple moving off their boat (just two slips down from us) and moving into a brand new townhouse. Boo...we'll miss their company. Now there are only four permanents on this dock. We hardly ever see our next door neighbor, one fellow is really struggling with arthritis, and the last one lives on a huge motor yacht at the end of the dock (we just say "How ya doin'?") and has a monster mercedes at the other end. So it's pretty quiet for now, but once the frost is past the weekend warriors will come a-roarin', laughing, hooting and hollering and de-winterizing their toys. It will be an interesting transformation to watch.