Super-Mouse Strikes Again!!

Well Ive been invaded.....by a mouse. Not just any mouse, but super mouse.This mouse appears to be indestructable. Ive gone through five rat traps. He is able to remove the bait without setting them off. The last trap just disappeared altogether. Ive hunted high and low for it but its gone. Im thinking the mouse figured it was the golden egg of mouse traps. Just remove the food and more shows up in it, Im guessing he dragged it home to his family like a prized treasure.I picture them all sitting around it patiently waiting for treats to magically appear. Suckers!!

I went back to the hardware store the other day and spent over $50 on every kind of trap they have. I got a supersonic noise thingy that is supposed to drive them crazy and hopefully out of the boat.I also picked up a box with a spring trap that can hold up to 10 mice at once and another super-duper expensive traditional style trap with a hair-trigger. Nothing is working :(

He grows more brave everyday. Sometimes it sounds like there is an army of them rampaging through here. He knocks things flying, rustles through all the plastic and insulation under the bed and when he runs through the walls,you can feel him go by, must be the size of a moose! Sometimes he makes all kinds of squealing noises, like he is having a fight with another mouse. The other night we heard something scrabbling about on the back deck, it hit the floor with a mighty plop. I cant even imagine what it could have been, an otter, beaver or raccoon perhaps? Great, he's invited the whole rodent gang to his new pad.

I wanted to get the sticky traps but David wouldnt let me, said it was too gross when they tried to chew their legs off to get away. At this point I dont care anymore,I
just want him GONE!!! I have gathered up all the packaged food and stored it in large plastic boxes, quel pain in the ass it is now to get at things when I want to eat. I cant imagine what a hassle this would have been for sailors out at sea for long stretches. Nothing like getting up in the morning to find out all your bread, oatmeal ect has been eaten and shat in. Yuch!

I wish I had one of those infra-red thingys they use at the border to sense body heat. I cant see him, just hear him. I want to know where he is, how big he is and what he is up to. Im declaring war on the bastard, Im tired of being woken up by all his rummaging and pillaging.I dont want to rip my boat apart to get at him, but if thats what it takes, fine.

In other news, I finally tracked down a shop that repairs Johnson motors and got the proper controls for it. They are as old as the motor which is around 1965. Not pretty but we were assured they still work. David tried to hook them up but there is a broken piece that needs replacing. We have to wait until Monday to pick that up, but then hopefully we can go for the inaugural boat ride. I cant wait to go exploring up and down the river.

I found a small 7.5hp kicker motor on Craigslist last night. We picked it up today, its not running and needs alot to clean it up, but for $70 well worth it. Its not seized just needs new rubber bits and alot of rust removal on the bolts ect. Now all I need to do is learn how to be a marine mechanic. It never ends. There is sooo much to learn about boats, boating, engines, woodworking, boat repair. I'll be busy for long time to come.

David took advantage of last weeks sunny weather to pull the tarp back and lift out one of the big windows so he could get my new stove in here. We picked up a gas fitting that we needed today and a missing knob for the oven controls. Tommorrow we shall dine on roast pork, yummy!

Well its snowing here now, so we are going to curl up in bed and play board games. I bought a whole bunch the other day, Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly, Scrabble, Yatzee,Pictionary and Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader. Time to dust off the brain cells, wish me luck!

What’s on Your Bucket List?

David and I went to see the movie “The Bucket List” the other night. It’s about 2 old guys with terminal cancer who write up a list of all the things they want to do before they “kick the bucket”. I got to thinking about my bucket list. I think I am luckier than most as I have already seen, done and accomplished a great many of the things that would be on it.

I’ve mountain climbed, scuba-dived, skied, water –skied, owned a few horses and got to ride them off the trail. I learned to play drums and got to perform in front of 5000 people. I’ve traveled tons and made it to a couple of tropical locations.(Hawaii and Bali) I’ve owned my own business. I’ve ridden in a helicopter, a fire-truck, planes of all sizes, a cruise ship, a hydrofoil search and rescue boat, trains, ski-doos, sea-doos, motorcycles, and a Porshe. I’ve stood on a glacier and a volcano. I’ve seen whales, bears, moose and deer in the wild and up close. I’ve been married (and divorced). I own my own home, a sports-car, a van, speedboat and a kayak. I work at a job I enjoy and am good at. I’ve met tons of celebrities and influential people through my work and got to spend an hour or more alone with them.

All in all, not to bad so far. So the revised list now stands as thus:

- hug a big cat ( lion, tiger etc)
- swim with dolphins
- ride on a elephant
- see Thailand, Nepal, Cambodia (Ancor Wat in particular), Vietnam, India , Bora Bora] and Machu, Pichu ( Peru),
- write a book
- be gifted with a diamond ring
- marry a man for no other reason then because I love him and want to spend my life with him ( the last one was for all the wrong reasons)
- teach someone to read (reading is the greatest gift I’ve ever received and would like to pass it on before I go)
- retire on my boat to some secluded beautiful bay ( preferably somewhere warm ) with a bit of land to grow an English- style garden full of nooks and crannies to explore



Some dreams that will never be met include:

-meeting John Lennon
-having my own child
-going skydiving ( it was a dream of mine for years, but I’ve totally lost my nerve now) ( if I live to be 80 I might try it anyway just to say I did)

So whats on your list??

At one point in the movie one of the characters turns to the other and tells him that the Egyptians had a theory that when you got to the pearly gates you were asked two questions. Your response to them decided whether you got in or not. They were,
1. have you experienced joy in your life
2. have others experienced joy from having you in their lives?

I think it would be hard to have either of those at 100 percent but I have definitely had profoundly joyous moments in my life (and a few not so joyous ones) and I believe I have brought joy to some people in this world and no doubt pissed some others off. I strive hard to keep the joy flowing but some days the grind makes me forget all that is good about being alive. It is in those times that I need to get out my list and see all the things I have managed to check off so far and appreciate just what a wonderful journey this has been. The fact that there are still things left on the list is awesome because it means I still have lot more living to do yet.
Peace, Love and Joy to you all, xxoo

Oopps, We Did it Again!

Almost sunk another boat, that is. My new boat has a slow leak from a rotten old plug, that combined with last night rain, made a good size puddle in it. The transom was just barely above water when David tried to step into the boat and his added weight caused water to flood in. The boat listed over and was on its way down. I could hear him screaming in frustration, so threw on some clothes and ran out to see what was up. We tried 2 different water pumps, both which fired up but wouldnt pump any water. David grabbed a come-along, got it attached to the back of my boat and got it upright. Thankfully he had hooked up a bilge pump on it the day before and that combined with some quick bailing with a bucket got the water out. The motor still fires up, what a relief and no damage done. I just look at all this as practice for his Marine Salvage Company. Nice to know, we think quick on our feet and dont crumble under pressure.

After that bit of morning excitement, I went off to a hair appointment with enough adrenaline coursing through me to move a mountain. After I was done there, it was off to a Marine Supply store to stock up on boating goods. Today I aquired a VHF radio, life jacket,floodlight,anchor,chain and rope, 3 bumpers with rope, an air horn, fire extinguisher,and of course the all important boat plug!!

I already have a depth sounder that I bought last summer, a stereo donated by Steve, a propane heater,paddles, a pike pole and a brand new battery. I still need to buy some guages, charts and someday a GPS, but we have pretty much all we need to outfit the boat to code . We both need to get our boating licence and VHF licence which will cost us 140$ each. Davids log salvage licence came in the mail today.It so exciting, we have accomplished alot in the last few days, so close now, I cant wait to get out there.

Thanks Rob for your hilarous post, a good laugh was just what I needed after this mornings shenanigans. Tonight sounds like another test of our mettle. The wind is howling again at 70 km/hr.Davids chimney is swaying in the wind like a drunken sailor. Im praying it doesnt come crashing down. I think tonight will be an earplug night, nothing like the sound of tarps banging and flapping in the gale to wreck a good nights sleep. Except of course the sound of a rat scrabbling around in the bilge. Yes folks, Ive been invaded. I borrowed Tanas cat Tobias last night for a sleep-over in hopes he would do his hunting thing. We set a trap a few nights ago, but it malfunctioned. The rat got a tasty meal and lived to torment us for another night. I cant hear him now over the tarps flapping but hope he got the hint with the cat around and vacated the premises. If not Im sending in the big guns. Tana the rat killer with her superhuman rat catching powers. I hope he is trembling in mortal fear. Ah, life on the water, aint it grand?

Another Addition to the Fleet

Well the New Year is off to a good start. I just bought an 18 1/2 ft Glastron speedboat. It has an aluminum roof welded to the top and sides which will make it nice and safe for hauling logs and keeping us dry. It was just the boat with no motor ect but I have the 85 Johnson I can put on it and all the steering cables are there. I need a Marine radio and some gauges,but other than that ,the boat is pretty much ready to go. I cant wait to be able to get out and explore my backyard.Im looking forward to being able to take it to Wreck Beach next summer. Whoohoo, no more stairs!!(There are about 400 stairs straight up a cliff which is the only access to the beach,a heart attack inducer if ever there was one.)

Got disappointing news yesterday when I called the guy with the Kayaks to tell him I had the money for the second one. Turns out he up and sold it on me to someone else. Asshole, Im not too impressed, I wanted David to have one as well so we could go out together. Im not brave enough to go by myself at this point. Hopefully I can find another deal on one before the weather warms up.

I cant complain though, in 5 months I have managed to aquire every kind of boat Ive ever wanted, a live aboard, a kayak and a speedboat. And they are all paid for, no money owing on any of them. Life is good.

Work has been insane, only 3 days off this month, but Im glad to have the extra money to go boat shopping with. Im praying that the log salvaging business works out and I can retire from the Massage industry. We get conflicting stories from people, some saying there is tons of money to be made and others saying there is none. I dont know who to believe, so will just cross my fingers and hope for the best. Nothing ventured , nothing gained. I am going to need alot of money to get the wood hull on my live-aboard fixed this summer and am hoping the log salvaging will pay for that. Another day, another adventure, its all good.xxoo