December 4, 2012

Since it is almost the end of the year... and it has been a year that we have spent here on the boat, I figured I had better up-date the Blue Oasis Blog. So in review...

We were able to go home back in September for Mom's Surprise 75th Birthday party. We had SO MUCH FUN! Mom was so surprised! Karey rented the Grange hall in Rathdrum and all the kids, Karey, Ben, Marla, Barb and Dee went in early and decorated the hall. Karey made the cake (It was so beautiful!). Karey had told Mon that they were going to the Grange to listen to a folk singer that Karey thought Mon would like... When she walked through the door we all started signing happy birthday to her, it was awesome. There were friends and relatives from near and far, folks she had not seen for awhile. It was a wonderful day, and I think she was truly surprised! After the party in Post Falls Ben and I drove to Kamiah to see my brother and his family. It had been almost a year since I had seem them, I miss them so much.

We spent the weekend at the cabin, there were fires all around us and it was so smokey! We went on a jeep run up to Waldy Lookout with a group of friends, it was an awesome trip, but once we got up to the top of the mountain you couldn't see a THING! It was so great to see the kids, they grow up so fast. It's hard to believe that Bradley will be in High School next year.... Where has the time gone. ** sigh***   I also got to visit with my Aunt Donna Knight whom I had not seen in years!. It was nice to talk to someone who actually remembered my mom, and reminisce about 'the good ol' days'. As I get older there are so few people left , besides my brothers, who remember her! It was so wonderful to be home again, and it was awful to leave knowing it would be a long time before I could return! My birthday came and went in October, Ben took me out to dinner with Nikki and her family to Red Lobster, (We had a couple gift certificates from Carson...Thanks Dude), and Lani sent me a Birthday bouquet! She had it delivered which was tricky
as we live in a 'gated' marina... She called me and told me to go to the gate when the delivery truck arrived. How she coordinated it, I will never know... Thanks Lani! I Love ya Gal! By the end of October we had finally moved out to the 'common cover', no more living in a garage, aka Boat House! I am finally outta the cave of Darkness. LOL. I like it so much better out here, I can actually SEE out the windows, AND we don't have to pay the extra $250 a month in boat house rent. We get the storms now, the boat really gets to rockin and a rollin! But I can see the traffic across the inlet, and we are right across from the Navel Base and the BIG ships and it is cool to see them come and go. The common cover houses about20 boats, there are 2 other boats with 'live-aboards', and BOY is it a LONG walk to the club house and the shower and toilet. (Ya REALLY have to plan ahead if you know what I mean!) But If I want to take Chloe out for a little walk we can walk around under the common cover and NOT get wet. That's nice for a change. Thanksgiving I went to Lani's and Ben went to Dave and Donna Pritz's, some friends we meet here at the Yacht Club. The day after Thanksgiving we Both had leftovers at Dave and Donna's, then the following Sunday we drove to Nicole's for a wonderful ham dinner. Now Christmas is approaching and it looks like we will not be able to afford to go home for the holiday. I'm not sure this is quite what I signed up for. Now that we live under common cover we only have so much power coming into the boat, so we keep the hot water heater turned off... except when we turn it on once a day to do dishes, we have to turn off all the heaters and the freezer to use the water heater or we blow the breakers. I miss having hot water, being able to just wash my hands or rinse out a wash cloth. I miss having a toilet. I miss having a shower and a washer and dryer. I don't like going to a laundry mat, I hate being so broke all the time, but I guess that's just little things. I suppose it is the holidays that have me so down, being so far from family and friends. I see the kids and Grandkids posts on facebook and it makes me cry, I talk to friends on the phone and it makes me cry, I guess I just need to put on my big girl panties and 'buck up'. I have been trying to keep busy, I am now the Port Orchard Yacht Club House Chairman, that means I am in charge of ALL the events and rentals of the clubhouse. It keeps me busy. I just finished decorating the clubhouse for Christmas, and Ben and I are going to decorate our boat for the lighted boat parade on the 15th. This will be the 2nd. time since we moved our boat

to Port Orchard that we have ACTUALLY been out on our boat! (price of fuel) So I am looking forward to that, Ben has been working on getting the boat decorated.  Ben has been having quite a time this fall. His shoulder he fell on may need surgery and he has been going to physical therapy 3 times a week for his knees. He is in alot of pain, but I can only nag him so much to CALL his DR.'s. His Dr's are all through the VA and they WILL NOT do anything unless you hound them. Ben keeps waiting for them to call him, I tell him that isn't going to happen that HE needs to get on them.... But ya-know, Men.... what ya gonna do! Don't know what we are doing for Christmas but I will be sending all my love to those back home. I love and miss you all.

Friday August 17, 2012

We have finally completed ALL the repairs on the Blue Oasis. The decks are all painted and coated, the bright work is all done, the headliners are in both the master stateroom AND the main salon. New carpet throughout, new diesel tanks (no more smell.. Yahoo), and she looks AWESOME! WOW what a difference! We worked our butts off on this project. Now I wanna go boating. We haven't had her out of the boat house since last October. I wanna go cruisin' somewhere and enjoy some of my hard work.

I think a boat trip to the San Juan's would be a nice reward for the last year of working on this ol' gal. Now the next step is to put her up for sale. Yep, we are gonna sell her and buy a motor home. I am tired of living so far from home and family. I'm homesick. And I already told Ben, NONE of this fixer upper shit! When we get the motor home it will already be in excellent shape. NO FIXER_UPPERS!!!! If the curtains are worn out then I guess we ain't buyin' that one!

Monday, July 23, 2012

We have finally finished ALL of the non-skid coating on the decks.... and it looks AWESOME! We are beginning to see an end to the madness. That LOOONG list of 'To-Do's" is getting shorter. I so EXCITED! The next item on the list is to get all the wood oiled and repair the hatch covers fore and aft. Ben is going to build new hatch covers with a smoked Plexiglas. Should look really good when he gets them finished.  The whole boat is looking so GOOD!

Last night Ben pulled the old headliner out of the bedroom. That will be our next big project.... installing the new vinyl in the bedroom and main salon. I don't think that is a project that Ben is looking forward to. This whole boat repair thing has been kinda a 'learn as we go.' Trying to get the new ceiling installed is gonna be an interesting adventure... I sure hope it turns out at least halfway decent looking. LOL

We are gonna take a day off today... Ben took another spill on the back deck, he is pretty stoved up soooooooo, I guess he can have ONE day off.

Sat. July 14, 2012

As usual... Ben and I spent the week working on the boat. Today Ben is going to putty and bondo the last few repair spots on the main deck then sand them smooth and I think, I hope... that we will be finished with ALL the sanding. YEAH! I am SOOOOO tired of EVERYTHING being covered with sawdust! By the time we finished last night we both looked like we were covered with flour from head to toe. LOL. After he finishes sanding those spots then I get to start the job to cleaning up the mess.

I can't take a hose to the wood as it will bring up the grain and I will just have to sand all over again.... So I am going to start at the top and work my way down with a damp rag and clean as I go. That's gonna be a job, it's a BIG boat to wipe down by hand. Ben will take a hose to the boat house to try to knock down some of the dust on the walls before we start putting the teak oil on the wooden rails and windows. We did get the non-skid on the upper decks and it looks really good. I love the color.

Once the dust is all cleaned up we will tear the head-liner out of the bedroom, clean the dust outta there... then put in the NEW head-liner and new carpet! YAH, I am so tired of working on the DANG boat!

Sun. July 8, 2012

Today we put down the primer for the non-skid decking. FINALLY, progress! The primer is a 2 part epoxy that seals the surface and preps the area for the "Gorilla Grip" non-skid. It was easy to put down and only took a few hours to tape the deck and paint it on. Now we wait 24 hrs and then put down the 1st coat of non-skid... Then wait another 24 hrs and put down the final coat and the fly bridge and Aft deck will be done.

The coating is like a rubber, kinda cool. The non-skid will be a little darker blue, I can't wait to see it. Finally we are starting to see some results from all our hard work. Ben is sealing the rubber non-skid to the edge of the wood that surrounds the aft deck, hopefully that will help seal the deck from anymore water damage. Boy that blue primer sure brightened things up... WOW

Sat July 7, 2012

Today was Dustin and Lani's anniversary so they decided to spend the day on their boat and invited us to tag along. The sun was shining, we had a gallon of Margarita mix, a dozen doughnuts and a cooler full of beer... Life is Good! It was nice to take a break from working on our boat and finally go boating for a change. So the plan was to meet them in Kingston at noon. They keep their 26 footer moored in Everett and Dustin figured it would take an hour to get to Kingston..... Wrong. Ben and I got to Kingston around 11:30 and waited. and waited, and waited..... Apparently it takes about 2 1/2 hrs to go from Everett marina to Kingston. Who knew? So FINALLY around 2:30 they showed up and we spent the rest of the day just wandering around the bay, picking up driftwood (Is that illegal???) and just lounging and having a great time.

We saw several harbor seals and about 7 cruise ships heading out to open water. Holland America, Norwegian, Princess Cruise Lines. I tried to get Dustin to cruise close enough for me to throw a gaff hook so I could stow-away but he wouldn't do it. It was kinda weird seeing them all lined up one after the other all heading out.... Without me. Ben ended up taking a nap, Dustin refused sun screen and got BURNED like a boiled lobster, I drank so much Margarita I ended up with a touch of alcohol induced sun sickness.... Lani did just fine. Bitch! We got home around 8pm. Tired and sun burned. What a great day.

Friday July 6, 2012

Well, we ARE making progress. Ben has the entire back deck stripped, filled with Bondo and sanded. It looks like today we will be doing some touch up with the white paint on the fly bridge and Ben has to fabricate the aft hatch cover.... THEN tomorrow we should be ready to lay down the first coat of primer for the blue non-skid. GOD what a job this has been! Now that we have a few days of nice weather it would be nice to be able to actually take the boat out in the water. Oh well... Maybe next month the boat will be ready.

EVERYTHING is covered with dust from all the sanding. I have the upper decks vacuumed and wiped down and ready for the paint. I will be glad when all this sanding and painting is down! It will also be nice to see the finished product.... It seems like we work and work and all we have to show for it is more dust! Once the upper decks are done, I will again head to Lani's so Ben can do the main deck WITHOUT Chloe walking through the seal coat.

Tomorrow is Dustin and Lani's anniversary, I think we are going to go out in their boat and spend the day..... At least I will get to do a little boating. LOL

Wed. July 4th. 2012

We had a nice 4th of July. The day started out cloudy but soon turned to blue skies and temps in the low 70's. WHOOO-HOOOO. We took a break from sanding the boat, we were both so sore and tired from working we really needed a day off! Ben and I watched the fireworks from a friend's boat moored at the Port Orchard Marina. We just left our car parked here at the Yacht Club and walked downtown... Parking was horrible and it was just easier to walk than try to find a parking spot. We did have a good time, a nice BBQ on-board with some cocktails. The park and marina was PACKED with boats and people. The fireworks started around 10:30 so it was after midnight when we finally dragged ourselves home. Not quite the same as spending the 4th with family..... but I had a nice time.

Saturday June 30, 2012

The last day of June.... Pouring down rain. WIll summer EVER come? The locals tell me that summer doesn't start untill AFTER July 4th. so there is still hope. Right???? Ben has been spending everyday working on the boat. He has everything cleaned off the fly bridge and the back deck and is removing the old cracked fiberglass. Once that has all been removed he will fill all the holes and bad spots with bondo and then sand everything. Once that's done we MIGHT be ready to start putting down the non-skid deck coating.

It has been a horendus job, Ben has been working every day. It looks like we will have to strip the entire back deck before we can coat it. SHIT!

Tuesday June 26, 2012

Chloe and I took off last Thursday to spend the weekend at Lani's. Ben had plans to paint the deck with the white under-coat so we decided it would be best if we took the little dog ashore..... Don't need any little paw prints in our new paint! I get so spoiled when I go to Lani's... She does all the cooking, I don't have to go to the store, or clean, or do laundry..... It's like a vacation.

The diesel tanks are repaired and back in the boat (smells better already). Now THAT was a job! While I was gone this weekend Ben finished up the last of the sanding of the main deck and painted the edges with the white to prep the decks for the blue non-skid. Now that I'm back home we are going to work on putting the 27 coats of Seafin Teak Oil on the wooden rails and windows..... once that dries we are going to start taping in preperation to apply the non-skid. It seems never ending.... I cant believe that July 4th is this next week. I'm going to spend the entire summer working on this #%^%#@ boat!

Wed. June 20, 2012

 Om Monday June 18, the heavens welcomed a special soul. Denise Svilich Manes. Denise and I have been friends for so many years.... I meet her back in my early 20's. I was in her wedding, she was in mine. As a matter of fact she was in 2 of my weddings. We went through so much together. Very, very good times... And very, very bad times. When I was homeless she was there for me, when she was homeless I was there for her. She lived with me in Clarkston, Kamiah, Rubins and Post Falls. We used to take off in my pickup and head to the back country... Elk City, Dixy, Riggins, Granddad Bridge. We would bring lots of booze, cigarettes, some herbal medicine, and spend the entire weekend roaming the back roads, swimming in the creeks, sitting around the campfire where ever we stopped. Exploring old mines and old graveyards. Staying up for three days howling at the moon.

The past years we have drifted apart, Denise moved to Pennsylvania, those that know us know the story. I did connect with her again this past year though Face book. She said she was happy, had a good man and was doing well. Last night another old and dear friend called to tell me Denise had taken her life. She had gone out on the property with a gun..... I feel shock. All I could say was Oh My God, over and over. I mean... to be so tired of this life, this journey that you want to end it? We have all thought about it, when life is just SO hard, and it feels like we are so tired of fighting the fight. That whatever comes after this it has GOT to be better than this. I have been there.... I wish she would have called me. I wish there would have been something I could have done to help her. I hope that she finds the peace she was searching for. I hope she is happy now. I hope she can rest. I'm so sorry Denise, I will keep you in my heart and keep your memory. I will light a candle to guide you to the other side. May you find peace. Love you Girl

Sat. June 16, 2012 QuadraPaws Fun Run

Our 4X4 Jeep club held it's yearly fund raiser Saturday. Ben and I rolled outta bed around 4am. to meet the club at the staging area at 7am. It was a fun day, we had 6 stations throughout the trail where participants had to stop and preform a 'task' to earn points. At station 3 the driver was blindfolded and the passenger had to guide the driver, backwards, through a series of cones, at another stop they had to answer trivia questions or "Do you have a book " (Book of matches? "Novel? Manuel?) Ben and I were the "Phantom 7". Our job was to find a spot along the trail and pull over and lift the hood as if we were broke down. If they stopped to see if we needed help they got 50 points. Out of 93 rigs signed up to do the run we had 63 stop and ask.... WOW. I thought EVERYONE would stop and ask. People are strange over here! It was a LOOOOONG day, the last rig came through about 5pm. By the time the awards and prizes were handed out it was after 7. Ben and I were pooped by the time we got home!

The weather was great, I spent the day sitting in a lawn chair reading my Kindle. Chloe... the run away dog, spent the day trying to get off her leash. She spotted the squirrels right of the bat and MAN did she wanna GO! I like being in the woods, the sounds and the smells. I told my BFF Lani that I am so sick of starfish and sea urchin's and the smell of low tide and.... she laughed at me because when we first moved here I was sooo fascinated with everything. LOL.

Thursday June 14, 2012

Ben has spent the last week working on the diesel tanks. Both tanks have been welded, re-coated with epoxy and are ready to go back in the boat. Tuesday Ben went up to Nikki's and got a 55 gal. drum and he spent yesterday pumping out the bilge. Because the diesel tanks have been leaking into the bilge we have not been able to use our auto bilge pumps. So for the past 8 month's water and fuel have been accumulating below our feet. Ben pumped out what he could, then we ran a tub full of hot soapy water through the bilge and he scrubbed and scraped out what was left. OMG, the boat smells so much better already! Poor Ben, he was covered with slime from head to toe.... The boat smells better but Ben....... PHWEEEEEE.
The next step is getting the tanks BACK in the boat. That's gonna be a job. I guess we are gonna tackle that chore tomorrow. (Can't wait!)
Today is a girl's day for me. My friend Yolli (Explores Club) and I are driving to Bainbridge Island to explore the Suquamish Museum, part of the Puget Sound Salish Tribes. After the museum we are going to go into Bainbridge Island to check out all the cute little shops down town and on the waterfront. Should be fun... although it's raining... AGAIN! Any day off this boat is a good day! LOL

Tuesday June 12, 2012

WE have had Chloe about 6 weeks. She is such a good little girl, never barks, isn't a licker, she does like to jump up but we are trying to break her of that. Ben and I wondered WHY would someone give up such a sweet little dog? Yesterday was such a nice day we decided to take Chloe to the local dog park here in Port Orchard and let her run around a little bit, get off the boat and run in the grass. They have a great dog park here, about 11 acres of trails and wooded paths, meadows and trees. Once we got into the woods a little ways we decided to release Chloe from her leash to see how she did, after all.... when we let her loose on the docks she minds very well when we call her to "come". I think I now know WHY they got rid of Chloe... As soon as that leash came off she was gone. And I mean GONE. Ben and I spent 3 + hours beating the brush looking and calling for her. Several times we caught sight of her as she darted from one pile of blackberry brush to another, but it was as if she didn't even see or hear us. Ben and I both got all cut to heck trying to go through the brush after her. We even called in a friend and his dog thinking we might be able to lour her out. FINALLY after the sun had started to set... here she came, all dirty and cut to heck, walking down the middle of the road. I coulda KILLED her! GRRRRRR.

Note to self. Do NOT release Chloe from Leash

Saturday June 9, 2012 Commodore's Ball

I have been spending the past several weeks crafting and getting ready for the Port Orchard Yacht Club's BIG event of the year. The Commodore's Ball. Our yacht club is part of the Grand 14. The 14 original yacht clubs of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Seattle, Gig Harbor, Tyee, etc..... Each of the 14 yacht clubs holds a formal ball honoring the current years commodores. Our theme this year was Rhythm & Blues and this years commodores are the SHARKS.(Last year the Commodores were the Sassy Salmon.... Funny). So my crafting partner Dave and I spent days cutting musical notes out of cardboard, painting them black and covering them with glitter.... we found old records, 78's, 45's, 33's and strung them together and sprayed em' with MORE glitter. I had glitter frikkin EVERYWHERE!!!! Silhouettes of sax players and trumpet players were cut out and centerpiece's designed. I designed and printed and mailed all the invitations and RSVP's. We started setting up on Thursday, hanging all the decorations from the ceiling. Then Friday we set up the tables and Saturday we put the final touches on.... ice in the bar, flowers on the tables, etc.... The ball was a great success and I am SO glad IT'S OVER! With everything that's going on with the boat I'm gonna retire from volunteering for awhile. Take a break.

Ben has already pulled both diesel tanks on the starboard side and taken them up to our friend Jerry's house to be repaired. I just want to get the boat fixed and SOLD!

Saturday June 2, 2012 Lani's

It started raining right after Memorial weekend so Ben and I spent a couple days plotting our next move on the boat. Ben decided it was time to tackle the diesel tanks so while he rips the back end of the boat apart I get to spend a few days ashore with my BFF Lani. The tanks are located UNDER the bed so he gets to (try) sleep on the couch. Poor baby

YAH! I so excited to be on land and in the trees again. So Lani has two new baby goats.... yes these two actually live outside in the barn! Twin little twin boys just weened. They are so frigging cute! They are mini goats anyway and they are so tiny. I never thought I would love a goat.... but gosh these guys are sweeties! They look so tiny in that big ol' barn stall! Lani has an outdoor pen built for them, it has Dustin's old ice house as the 'loafing' shed and is fenced in with hog wire. They are named Alfalfa and Spanky. I can't tell them apart? They still cry for Mama. I just wanna pick em' up and Love em' all over. No plans for the weekend. Lani and I are just gonna hang out here. I promised her I would help her get her garden in so Dustin and I spent the morning planting. It was nice to put my hands in the dirt.

Sunday May 27, 2012

In Typical Memorial weekend fashion.... We meet up with Tom and Marie. After a few beers on the boat.... What? Where the heck did Tom and Marie come from? Well I guess they were in the area visiting family and knew that Mike and Karey were ALSO in the area. So as Ben and Mike and Karey and I were coming back to the boat from breakfast who should drive into the yacht club parking lot??? Tom and Marie of course! We all went down to the boat and reclined on the back deck and enjoyed a few cocktails. It was great because how many Memorial weekends have the 6 of us spent together and now here we all are together.... on the Sound, just by chance... or IS it.... Hmmmmm.

After a nice visit we all walked down to the Port Orchard docks and checked out the booths and vendors for Seafair. They had a Seagull calling contest..... but we were to late to enter. Bummer. We all had some fair food and wandered around a bit before heading back to the boat for Pizza and more beer. (I see a recurring pattern here) It was another nice day, not as sunny but warm. It was so nice to see everyone and just sit and visit and laugh. It was so nice to see Ben Laugh and smile!

The boys ended the night with a cribbage game then Mike and Karey headed to their hotel. I am so grateful that they came over for the weekend. (Although I will be homesick and in a bad mood for the next few weeks) LOL Poor Ben

Saturday May 26, 2012

Ben's Birthday. Today was just the BEST day EVER! We saw a great ball game, Ben got an awesome surprise and I got a little drunk..... it just couldn't get any better.  Crystal, Ben's daughter, got him Mariners tickets fro his birthday. What Ben didn't know is that Crystal had contacted Uncle Mike and Aunt Karey, Ben's sister and brother-in-law, and they conspired to get 4 seats together at the game. The idea was that Mike and Karey would come over and get a hotel for the weekend then surprise Ben by showing up on the ferrie or at the game and see how long it took him to notice his sister was sitting beside him. LOL. WE had quite a plan. But as they say the best laid plans ..... that morning Karey and I were texting back and forth like mad. First they were gonna meet us when we walked off the Seattle side of the ferrie... then they were gonna walk on the 3:00 ferrie with us on the Bremerton side, then they texted and said they would make the 1:20 ferrie, then they said NO they wouldn't make the ferrie! In the mean time I am telling Ben lets take the later ferrie, don't wanna get there to early... No, lets leave early so we can walk around the stadium, no let's stop on our WAY TO the ferrie.. He is looking at me like he wishes I would make up my FRIKKIN mind.

As we are driving up to the terminal Mike and Karey pull up in their car beside us... Ben glances over, does a double take.... "Is that Karen?" "What are they doing here? Are they going to the game?" I told him Happy Birthday and that this was his present. Once he figured out they had seats next to ours he was so surprised! We all MISSED the ferrie, we just walked across to Seattle and Quest stadium,  which was cool because it gave us a chance to hug and laugh and cry and down about a dozen beers. AWESOME. Seafair is gong on Memorial weekend in Port Orchard and Bremerton and we had time to have a few cocktails with the Seafair Pirates in Bremerton... Ben got a free beer AND a kiss from the Pirate wench. The boys REALLY liked that Wench..... The weather was great, as a matter of fact about half way through the game we all bailed outta our seats which were in the sun and headed to the shady side of the stadium. The Mariners lost but we had so much fun. Karey and I spent more time running around the stadium than watching the game.

It was still warm and the sun was still up when we walked back to the ferrie. We had all had enough beer and sunshine,   and STAIRS.... that we were ready to head home and to bed. LOL. It was an awesome birthday for Ben. He teared up when he first hugged his sister, he couldn't believe that Crystal had gone to the trouble of setting it all up and that Mike and Karey had driven all the way to spend time with us. Thanks guys... Best Birthday ever!

Thursday May 24, 2012

Good Lord will this boat project EVER be done???? The more we scrape and sand the more places we find that have to be replaced due to rot and water damage. The arthritis in my hips is killing me, and my hands and arms just ACHE! Looks like this is gonna be a bigger job than we thought. Oh well... with each repair we are one step closer to getting the boat done and on the market. While Ben tore apart the back deck I finished the hand sanding around the windows and deck rails.

Once every thing is sanded down we will start on varnishing the wood and putting down the new non-skid deck coating..... IF we ever get to that point. It feels overwhelming because there is so much to do. I think once I actually start to see the finished product it will feel like we are accomplishing something. I am sooooo looking forward to this weekend. I can hardly hold it in... not telling Ben his sister and brother-in-law will be joining us for the Mariners game. Is it Saturday yet????

Guess I better get started on today's chores..... I keep hoping I will wake up one morning and all the work will be done......  *sigh*

Monday May 21, 2012

Rain, Rain, Rain........ We have had such a run of great weather I had almost forgotten we lived in the rainy northwest! Oh well, can't have blue Sky's everyday.... We had a great weekend. aka.. no working on the boat. LOL. My big brother Bob and his wife Lee drove up Saturday afternoon and spent the night on the boat with us. We enjoyed a great BBQ on the deck, a few beers and great company. I don't think Lee knew what she was getting into when she agreed to spend the night on the boat. We have two double beds in the aft cabin, both are partially under the outer walkway so you kinda have to sleep under a shelf, poor Lee is like me, a little claustrophobic.... so Bob had to sleep under the 'ledge'. Then there is the wonderful smell of the diesel.... and the oder of the toilet.... I LOVE having company but I am embarrassed by the shape/smell of our boat. Lee and Bob were troopers. They survived the night and after a breakfast of biscuits and gravy (of course), they headed back home. Thanks for visiting, I love you both and admire your courage!
Saturday is Ben's birthday, daughter Crystal sent him Mariners tickets for the Saturday game. He doesn't know it but his sister Karey and brother-in-law Mike are driving over from Idaho to go to the game with us. I am so excited! I can't wait to see them. I know nothing about baseball but I'm so excited about going to the game. Thanks Crystal, what a great gift! And thanks Mike and Karey for spending your Memorial Day with us, it will be a wonderful surprise for Ben and I am so excited to see you both!
Today we begin AGAIN working on the boat, all the scraping is done on the wood, we just have to do the finish sanding and then the varnish. I think today we are going to start working on the decks, remove the old cracked paint and get it ready for a new coat of non-skid. Ben wants to wait until the weather turns again before we start tearing apart the bedroom and remove that DAMN diesel tank and replacing the floor. I just keep thinking that with every day of work we are getting closer to putting the boat on the market and selling it. At the very least.... even if it doesn't sell right away I will have a CLEAN, boat to live in... one that I can actually go BOATING IN!

Thursday May 17, 2012

Every month I attend a WIC, (Woman's Interclub Council) meeting at a different Yacht Club. This month the WIC luncheon was held at Olympia Yacht Club and the 'theme' was Alice through the looking glass, a Mad Hatter Tea Party. All the guests were encouraged to make a hat for the occasion. My hat won a prize (a pretty little cup & saucer) for Best Hat! I am a creative genius! Now why can't I make any money doing what I love!..... HUH!... WHY!... I guess that would just be to easy.  ** sigh**

I drove to Olympia ALL BY MYSELF, my first trip on I-5 alone and driving through Tacoma... I was very brave and only took the wrong off ramp once and was able to get back on the freeway with out freaking out TOO bad! LOL. When I got home Ben was slaving away on the boat. We are in the process of completely re-doing the boat. Not only is Ben going to repair that FREAKING leaking Diesel tank but we are stripping ALL the wood trim (and DAMN there is alot of wood) so we can put a new coat of varnish on the trim. Once the trim is all scraped and sanded we will put around5 or 6 coats of varnish on all the outside wooden trim. THEN Ben will pull the diesel tank and repair or replace it. After that it's time to touch up the exterior white paint.... and it's a BIG boat, then we will put down the light blue non-skid coating on all the horizontal decks. Once THAT is done... holy crap I'm tired already.... We are putting new material in the interior cabin ceiling, and the final step is new carpet throughout. THEN..... wait for it........

We are gonna put the boat on the market and SELL IT! Then????? Well, I guess we will have to see. We have been working our asses off and every time I get tired and my arms ache... I just thing of how nice it will be to get outta this boat!

Saturday May 12, 2012 Weekend at Nicole's

Spent the weekend at Nicole's working on the Jeep. Ben spent ALL day Saturday and Sunday under the hood. At one point he tried to align the steering wheel so it was 'straight' and I don't know what he did... but every time we turned left the horn went off. I laughed so hard... it was hilarious! I spent the weekend playing with Chloe in the yard, it was such an awesome day. We BBQ'ed some chicken and Nikki and I just hung out with Kale. Ben finally got the horn to stop going off... although the steering wheel is still crooked! BaHaHa... Monday it's back to the boat and more scraping and getting her ready to replace the diesel tanks. YUCK! What a job. Of all the things my hubby has brought home for us to fix-up.... The old motor home, the camper trailer, the pick-up camper... This is defiantly the WORST! The next time he finds a 'fixer-upper' I'm outta here! Next time I want something that is READY to move into!

Friday May 11, 2012 Bug Museum

Bremerton Bug Museum.  Today the Explores club.... yes all 2 of us. Headed to the Bug Museum. I think it is designed mostly for kids... So of course Yoli and I had a GREAT time! We got to see some of the weirdest and coolest bugs. We explored bizarre bugs under the microscope, looked through glasses that let us see like a bug, and even watched busy ants in the giant 8 foot long Ant Farm! They have the weirdest and most interesting bugs on display.

We spent several hours exploring the bugs and having fun in the gift shop. I found some great gifts that I want to get for family and friends. They have really cool butterfly feeders and butterfly houses. The also have every kind of critter container you can imagine. Ant farms for the kids, kits to raise your OWN butterfly, frog houses and other very cool gifts and learning toys for the kids. We really had a fun time! After the bugs we headed to the Port of Bremerton and the Navy Yard to tour the Turner Joy.

This is the first war ship tour I have ever been on and it was very cool! The tour is un-guided so you get to climb all over the thing, you can walk through the whole ship, go down in the crew quarters, the engine room, the boiler room, up to the bridge, into the gun towers, etc. Amazing how they built those ships back then (the USS Turner Joy is from 1957 and decommissioned in 1982), long before CAD systems and all the tools we have today. USS TURNER JOY was the last ship in the FORREST SHERMAN - class of destroyers and the first ship in the Navy to bear the name. Her keel was laid down on September 30, 1957 in Seattle, Washington and she was launched on May 5, 1958.

Turner Joy's distinctive service included a double-duty role as flagship for Destroyer Squadron 13 and Destroyer Division 131 with several tours in the Pacific. She also stood air-sea rescue duty near the Marianas Islands for President Dwight D. Eisenhower's visit to several Asian nations. In terms of history, this vessel is most remembered for her participation in the Gulf of Tonkin. It was incredible to walk through. To visit the buck where the crew slept.... (Man they musta been skinny, those bunks were stacked 3 high with about 2 ft clearance between the bunks. I, of course, had to climb into a bunk... RACK, excuse me... to see if a human could actually FIT... and I did, but just barley. LOL.)  We toured the galley and imagined how it must have been when men lived and worked in these cramped spaces. It was so very interesting. I would love to go back!