!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1CAUTION !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This post contains extremely graphic descriptions of the female reproductive cycle.
It possibly contains way more information about me then you would ever want to know.
I have decided to post it anyway in the name of science, kind of like donating my body except Im not quite dead yet. If you are squeamish, stop reading now, otherwise continue at your own risk.
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Ive decided to write about this because I find women dont talk about whats happening to their bodies very much. My own education about menstration and menopause was very sketchy at best. My Mother handed me a book about the sexual maturity of bodies when I was in grade three. I had had a conversation with a girl in the schoolyard who thought she was about to get her period. When I questioned her about what that meant, she told me she would bleed and have headaches and a stomachache. I went home in tears horrified and terrified. When I didnt understand any of the words in the book, Mom took it way from me and said "your too young to understand " and left me full of questions. We finally got the pablum version of sex education in school some years later, but it only described the process not the reality of going through it. Menopause to me just meant that one day I would wake up and my periods would be no more. There was no mention of the meriad of embarrasing symptoms that come with it or that the process takes YEARS!!!
In The Beginning
So now that I know Im supposed to have periods and that they will make me a "Woman", I cant wait for them to start. I spend many months checking my bedsheets each morning to see if it has come yet. When it finally does, it catches me completely unawares while I am swimming in the river with my friends. Im happy but mortified at the same time, I have no idea what to do to contain it. I finally get home and tell Mom the "Great Moment" has arrived. She takes me upstairs, hands me a tampon and tells me to use it, closing the door as she beats a hasty retreat. I have no clue how the thing works.I dont understand that your supposed to insert the tube, then push the tampon through it. I mistakenly place the tube on the outside of the vagina and try and push a huge wad of dry cotton into myself. Needless to say, it didnt get far. With most of it hanging out, I go get my Mom and tell her it hurts like hell, it that normal? Shaking her head in exasperation she takes me back upstairs, gives me a Maxi- pad and a special strappy girdle thing to attach it to ( before the days of stick-on pads) and explains how to use it. I rip out the wad of cotton along with half the lining of my vagina and after much fussing about get the pad in place. Christ , it was like walking around with a brick of cotton between my legs. I was sure everyone could see it outlined in my clothes. Id only had my period for 4 hours and I hated it already, I cant believe I had prayed for it to start.
It took about two months before the cramps started. No-one had prepared me for that.It felt like someone was scraping out my uterus with a dull rusty fork. I would writhe on the floor in absolute agony for a day or two every month. My Mother had never experienced cramps, so she thought I was making them up to get out of school. When I was much older I talked to a Doctor who told me the level of pain I experienced was close to labor....(EVERY MONTH FOLKS...think about that!) That continued from the age of thirteen until I was twenty.
At twenty, I saw a Doctor about getting an IUD for birth control as the hormones in the Pill gave me lots of unwanted side effects. Before she inserted it, she had me take two pills called Ponstan and told me to come back in a hour. When I asked what they were for, she told me they would stop the cramping and pain associated with IUD insertion. I asked her if they could do the same thing for the cramps I was experiencing with my periods. She figured they would so I got her to write me a big presciption for them. They saved my life. Two of those as soon as the first twinge hit, and I was good to go. Years later when I was renewing my presciption with a new Doctor, he said why dont you just take Advil, its the same thing and way cheaper.
( the Poston was a dollar a pill even back in the 70's, compared to a huge bottle of Advil for 3-4 dollars and no need to go to the Doctor whenever I ran out)
The downside of the IUD was that it was the old copper model and of course I got a raging infection from it that sent me to the hospital half dead. I was on morphine for ten days fighting a pain that was like a burning sword shoved into my hip and run down my leg. When I came out of that, the resulting scar tissue had completly warped my fallopian tubes, pulling them out of place, twisting them like pretzels and pinching them shut in various locations. I didnt find any of this out until seven years later when my husband and I tried to start a family.
We had been trying for over a year when we decided to see a Doctor and get some tests done. He went first and passed with flying colours. I spent the next four years undergoing eight surgeries and endless tests of every kind trying to figure out what was wrong. In the process:
- My uterus lining was scrapped and measured for appropriate thickness and consistancy to support life.
- I was diagnosed with endrometriosus ( the uterine lining had broken off and migrated to other parts of my body and was growing and bleeding there), that was surgically removed
-I was found to have a large solid cyst the size of a grapefruit on one ovary that was removed along with most of that ovary
-my convoluted tubes were filled with dye and he tried to pry the stuck areas loose
-I took my temperature every morning for 4 years to chart my ovulation cycles
After all the tests and surgeries I was told my chances of concieving were a million to one. That hurt. Its hard to accept that you will be childless when your still in your twenties. They never mentioned any of this in sex ed!
In the Middle
For the most part things settled down in my 30's and 40's. My periods were so regular you could set your clock by them. I took my Advil when needed and had finally figured out the intricacies of using a Tampon.
When I was in my second year of Massage School, I found out I was pregnant. I had been suffering with excrutiating pain for about 24 hours in my left flank. At school that day we were doing practical exams. My luck, the girl Im parterned with gets abdominal massage for her test and spends an excruciating 15 minutes poking around in my very sore guts. After the exams were over, I asked her to drop me off at the hospital instead of my house. My spidey senses were telling me , all was not well.I had been suffering from periodic cysts on my ovaries that would swell until they were very painful then burst in a blinding flash of pain, leaving a bruised tender feeling for a few days. I really thought thats all it was, but something made me go and get this one checked out, thank God I did.
While I was waiting in emergency, I started to bleed. I wasnt too worried , as I just thought it was my period which was a few days late ( I put that down to exam stress).Long story short, it turned out to be an etopic pregnancy( the egg was trapped in my clogged fallopian tube.) It had to be removed immediatly as I was hemmoraging to death. A few months later I was again pregnant but suffered a miscarriage in the second month. I was devastated by the turn of events and more than a little scared for my life. My boyfriend and I split up soon after and I lived a celibate life for almost ten years.
The End
When I hit about 45, things started going wonky again. I started getting bladder infections, about one a year. Some antibiotics would clear it up quickly, but it seemed to take longer each time. Finally I got what felt like a mild version of a bladder infection, more like an irritable bladder. I was going to the bathroom all day and having some embarrasing accidents at times. The antibiotics didnt work at all and this was going on for about 6 weeks. I finally saw a naturopath who told me that as we age our bladder loses tone and is more prone to infection as well. He gave me vitamin injections to bolster my immune systom and some herbs to strengthen the bladder.It worked great and Ive been fine since. A few kegel exercises now and again keep things tight and under control.
I got hit with a few hot flashes. They are nasty business to say the least. You feel like your being cooked alive from the inside out.I cant get to cold,fresh air fast enough. When I am at work, a feeling of being trapped comes over me as I cant very well bolt out of the treatment, but am so uncomfortable I almost feel like Im suffocating in a Sauna. Thank God , Ive only had a handful, I have friends who have many every day, I really dont know how they manage.
I suffered a good deal with the old PMS throughout the years, but menopause definately puts another twist on it. My mood swings are now more like mood tidal waves.
My periods have gone haywire in the last two years. I bleed almost all the time now.It can last for 4-6 weeks, stop for 3-4 days, start up again for another 10 days and so on. Back to the Doctor for more tests to rule out cancer and other scary things. Looks like its just my hormones sputtering out, not strong enough to turn things off and on like they used to. I had no idea this could happen, I expected the periods to slow down and stop, not just go on and on endlessly,but apparently thats quite common.
My options to make this stop, include a Hystorectomy ( complete removal of my uterus and/or ovaries). This would put me in instant menopause and require hormone treatment. As I didnt fare well at all with hormones ( the PILL) when I was younger, I dont want to start taking them now.
Another option is ballon ablation, where they insert a type of ballon into the uterus and blow it up so it touches the inside walls and somehow heat it so that it cauterizes the lining. It doesnt always work that well as there is a good chance that the balloon wont hit every little nook and cranny and you will have some bleeding anyway. I already have that, why suffer painful surgery?
My other option is to have an IUD inserted which secretes tiny bits of progesterone constantly to fool the body into thinking its pregnant and stopping the periods. Its good for five years, after which time I should be over menopause anyway. The trick with this is it has to be inserted while I am having my period. Of course as soon as I buy the thing for an exorbitant price of $385.00 my periods stop.....for 3 months. When it finally does start again, I cant get an appointment with my Gynocoligist for at least a week, by which time its too late.
I think I will just have to suffer through this menopause the old-fashioned way with lots of grit, determination and whisky.
Its not over yet, God knows what else is in store for me. I find women dont talk much about whats happening to their bodies, probably out of a sense of shame or embarrasment. My Mother passed away long before her menopause so I dont have her experience to draw on. I certainly never dreamed all those years ago, when I was praying for my periods to start, what I was letting myself in for. I dont know if this post wil be of any help to anyone, I guess I just wanted to let you know that your not alone, dont be shy, talk to your Doctor, Naturopath, Massage Therapist ect to get the answers you need to best handle things.
I would be curious to hear other womens experiences as well. I have a love /hate thing going on with my reproductive organs. Im glad to be a girl, wouldnt trade the experience for anything, but if Im to be reincarnated, I think Ill try the other side next time.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Spring Update
So I finally found a shipwright to come down and take a look at my boat the other day.I got lots of good advice from him and a estimate on the cost of repairing the hull and deck. It looks like I can get most of the work done for about $5000 but knowing how things go on the water , Im bugeting for $10,000. I know once we start ripping things apart there will be unseen things that need repairing.Im hoping I can store the boat at my old house while its being worked on. I figure I can attach a tarp from the side of the house and build a lean-to to cover the boat, this would save me tons of money instead of storing it at a shipyard and buying a very expensive shelter for it.
He gave me a good suggestion for fixing the leaky fiberglass decks. Im to put a double laminated plywood deck on, cover it with epoxy 2-part resin and then cover that with canvas which then gets a heavy coat of paint on it. He recommended I paint the boat with a special lineseed paint from Sweden. This paint is very durable and lets the wood breath so it won't rot. The paint is supposed to last for 15 years or so and is maintained by rubbing a lineseed wax into it periodically. http://www.solventfreepaint.com/ Ive noticed that where I painted the bathroom, the paint on the outside of the boat has bubbled. So this new paint should sort that out. I will have to put some more braces under the walkways as they are barely supported at all right now. None of this sounds too expensive or hard, so am hoping to start work on it in the next month or so. Just waiting for it to get a bit warmer and drier. I will get David to redo the windows at the same time and then hopefully will be able to get the tarp off in time for summer. Whoohoo, I cant wait for that.
He was quite concerned about the rot in the hull and the possibility of me sinking if i get hit with anything. For the time being he recommends I staple doorskin over the soft spots and caulk it with 5200 to seal things as best as possible. I will save money over the summer and start stockpiling the red cedar boards I need to redo the hull. He figures his work will have slowed down in the fall, so am hoping to get her hauled out and redone at that point. I am looking forward to seeing how this is all done, hopefully I can learn from this guy so that if I ever need to patch a spot in the future, I can do it myself. Sanding and painting the boat sounds like a huge physical chore which I am somewhat dreading but at the same time, I know how good I will feel when she is all done and beautiful again. Im hoping all goes according to plan and by next winter Im shipshape and dry.
My mouse problem seems to have vanished. Not sure what happened to him, I never caught him in any of my traps, so not sure if its the electrical buzzy thing that is keeping him away or if he met his doom in the jaws of a predator or something.Im just glad he is gone, he annoyed the f**k out of me.
I never figured out how to light the oven on my propane stove, so in the meantime, I invested in a convection toaster oven. It works awesome and we have had some tasty meals from it. The only downside is I lost the tiny bit of counter space that I had. Im still hoping to get the oven working but will leave that for some other time.
Daves world has been interesting of late. Your probably wondering what happened to the log salvaging we were going to do. Well a few months ago, David found an ad on craigslist for some property nearby that had a water lease attached to it. He contacted the owner and started proceedings to aquire the water lease so he can have a place to run his Marine Salvage and Construction business. Its been a lot of logistal run-around to get this done. He found a wonderful woman who believes in his vision and has joined forces with him to make this happen.
The water lease is completly out of the water at low tide so dredging will be neccesary. To get that done he had to have an enviromental survey done, deal with Fisheries, the City of Richmond,and Enviroment Canada to name a few. He may have to wait until August to start dredging , so as not to impact the fish runs. In the meantime, he has rented space at a local shipyard and bought a ton of material to build docks and floats. He met a man who is getting rid of a bunch of mobile homes for free and is getting them hauled down here so he can build floats for them and turn them into floathomes.
While waiting for the wheels of city hall to move and give him the go ahead to start, he has taken advantage of our warmer weather of late to do some more work on his his own floathome. He covered all the outside walls in heavy black plastic to seal it up better. He is planning to put metal siding over that. Originally he wanted to use cedar cutoffs, but is realizing that he has a weight issue with the house and has to keep that in mind when adding heavy material.
He finally got some decking put in around the sides of the house, and got a nice big float for the front deck in place. The temporary interior walls have come down and the floors ripped up (AGAIN!!)so he can fix some of the stringers that cracked under the weight of the wood cookstove. He has put some doorskins on a few of the walls which helps to make it look more like a home and less like a garage. He has a few days of hard work ahead of him trying to level the rest of the floor in the bathroom and workshop, then hopefully the bathroom will finally get built. Once the place has plumbing, it will look a lot more like a home. If all goes well, I think he should have the place done by fall. In the meantime it will be a good summertime place with all the space and decks to play on.
I really need to meet a good mechanic. I have 3 non-running boat motors, a van that needs repairs and my car could use some work too. I still havent been out on the speedboat, I really want it up and running this summer. Im in a quandry, Ive been working tons and just want to have lots of time off in the summer, but I need lots of money to get all the work done on the boats and vehicles. Ive been offered 4 days a week at the clinic. I want to say yes as the money is awesome there, but I wouldnt have much of a summer or time to work on anything. Whats a girl to do??
He gave me a good suggestion for fixing the leaky fiberglass decks. Im to put a double laminated plywood deck on, cover it with epoxy 2-part resin and then cover that with canvas which then gets a heavy coat of paint on it. He recommended I paint the boat with a special lineseed paint from Sweden. This paint is very durable and lets the wood breath so it won't rot. The paint is supposed to last for 15 years or so and is maintained by rubbing a lineseed wax into it periodically. http://www.solventfreepaint.com/ Ive noticed that where I painted the bathroom, the paint on the outside of the boat has bubbled. So this new paint should sort that out. I will have to put some more braces under the walkways as they are barely supported at all right now. None of this sounds too expensive or hard, so am hoping to start work on it in the next month or so. Just waiting for it to get a bit warmer and drier. I will get David to redo the windows at the same time and then hopefully will be able to get the tarp off in time for summer. Whoohoo, I cant wait for that.
He was quite concerned about the rot in the hull and the possibility of me sinking if i get hit with anything. For the time being he recommends I staple doorskin over the soft spots and caulk it with 5200 to seal things as best as possible. I will save money over the summer and start stockpiling the red cedar boards I need to redo the hull. He figures his work will have slowed down in the fall, so am hoping to get her hauled out and redone at that point. I am looking forward to seeing how this is all done, hopefully I can learn from this guy so that if I ever need to patch a spot in the future, I can do it myself. Sanding and painting the boat sounds like a huge physical chore which I am somewhat dreading but at the same time, I know how good I will feel when she is all done and beautiful again. Im hoping all goes according to plan and by next winter Im shipshape and dry.
My mouse problem seems to have vanished. Not sure what happened to him, I never caught him in any of my traps, so not sure if its the electrical buzzy thing that is keeping him away or if he met his doom in the jaws of a predator or something.Im just glad he is gone, he annoyed the f**k out of me.
I never figured out how to light the oven on my propane stove, so in the meantime, I invested in a convection toaster oven. It works awesome and we have had some tasty meals from it. The only downside is I lost the tiny bit of counter space that I had. Im still hoping to get the oven working but will leave that for some other time.
Daves world has been interesting of late. Your probably wondering what happened to the log salvaging we were going to do. Well a few months ago, David found an ad on craigslist for some property nearby that had a water lease attached to it. He contacted the owner and started proceedings to aquire the water lease so he can have a place to run his Marine Salvage and Construction business. Its been a lot of logistal run-around to get this done. He found a wonderful woman who believes in his vision and has joined forces with him to make this happen.
The water lease is completly out of the water at low tide so dredging will be neccesary. To get that done he had to have an enviromental survey done, deal with Fisheries, the City of Richmond,and Enviroment Canada to name a few. He may have to wait until August to start dredging , so as not to impact the fish runs. In the meantime, he has rented space at a local shipyard and bought a ton of material to build docks and floats. He met a man who is getting rid of a bunch of mobile homes for free and is getting them hauled down here so he can build floats for them and turn them into floathomes.
While waiting for the wheels of city hall to move and give him the go ahead to start, he has taken advantage of our warmer weather of late to do some more work on his his own floathome. He covered all the outside walls in heavy black plastic to seal it up better. He is planning to put metal siding over that. Originally he wanted to use cedar cutoffs, but is realizing that he has a weight issue with the house and has to keep that in mind when adding heavy material.
He finally got some decking put in around the sides of the house, and got a nice big float for the front deck in place. The temporary interior walls have come down and the floors ripped up (AGAIN!!)so he can fix some of the stringers that cracked under the weight of the wood cookstove. He has put some doorskins on a few of the walls which helps to make it look more like a home and less like a garage. He has a few days of hard work ahead of him trying to level the rest of the floor in the bathroom and workshop, then hopefully the bathroom will finally get built. Once the place has plumbing, it will look a lot more like a home. If all goes well, I think he should have the place done by fall. In the meantime it will be a good summertime place with all the space and decks to play on.
I really need to meet a good mechanic. I have 3 non-running boat motors, a van that needs repairs and my car could use some work too. I still havent been out on the speedboat, I really want it up and running this summer. Im in a quandry, Ive been working tons and just want to have lots of time off in the summer, but I need lots of money to get all the work done on the boats and vehicles. Ive been offered 4 days a week at the clinic. I want to say yes as the money is awesome there, but I wouldnt have much of a summer or time to work on anything. Whats a girl to do??
Sunday, February 24, 2008
How to make a Piling Disappear
The other morning I caught this Piliated Woodpecker digging a huge hole in one of our pilings.It's finally feeling like spring around here, the sun has been shining and the temperture is rising. I cant wait for summer.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
A Trip to the Aquarium
On Wednesday we decided to get out and go to the Vancouver Aquarium. I havent been there in about 16 years so was looking forward to it. Here are some pictures that turned out. My favorites by far were the sea otters. They were extremely playful and affectionate with each other, so cute, I could have watched them for hours. I want some now as pets lol, just have to figure out how to keep them here :)
They used to have killer whales at the aquarium but as they died off they decided not to replace them. Its for the best, it made me feel so sad to see such a magestic creature trapped in a fishbowl, but at the same time, it was an awesome experiance for people who may never see a whale in the wild. They had a big viewing window below the pools surface. It was amazing to stand there and have a beast the size of a house glide past inches way from your face. They have split the whale tank into 2 pools and have spinnaker dolphins and beluga whales housed in them. I have to say there is something alien looking about those belugas, they dont quite look like they belong here. They would be downright creepy if they didnt have that sweet smile plastered on their face.
About 20 years ago, I became the keeper of a friends pirahana.It got to be quite large and eventually I donated it to the aquarium.They had a large school of them at the time. I was curious to see them again. Sadly they must have died off because the school and the fish were much smaller then before.
It was nice to go and remind myslf about all the life in the waters around us and our impact on them.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Vancouver Boat Show
Today I attended my first boat show. Funny a year ago, I wouldnt have had any interest in going, but this year I couldnt wait for it. Now that I am a boat owner, I have a million questions about everything. I dont even know what I need to know as I knew very little about boats in general before this.
It was great, there were hundreds of info booths dealing with every aspect of boating. One of the first booths I ran across was for a wooden boat society that I didnt even know existed here down in Steveston. I had a good chat with one of the members that gave me some good contacts to call regarding redoing the woodwork on my boat. She had just finished redoing her 26 foot boat to the tune of 35,000$ OUCH!!
It looks like I will have to learn how to do it myself if I want mine redone. I want to retire in this lifetime!
I saw a nice refrigerator I would love to have , its a bit taller and deeper than mine and the freezer is separate from the fridge. Its also 1800$, so will be way down on the wish list for now, but good to know they make a larger model that would still fit on the boat.
Another thing we saw that interested me was a reverse osmosis water filter that can turn salt water into pure water. It makes 160 gallons of water a day, way more then I would ever use. The price tag was a hefty 4000$, but something to think about in the future.
We saw lots of different kind of docks, floatation systems and bumpers. Most were horrendously expensive. Its funny I never gave much thought to docks before, but after hearing about the prices people charge to build them and being outraged ( they really dont look like much for the price) I wasnt too suprised by the prices at the show. Im used to our wooden ones down here built over styrofoam blocks or 45 gallon steel drums, so was interested to see all the other options out there. One company makes ones out of plastic that snap together like a big mechano set. Very clean and durable looking but super expensive. Another company made bumpers on a machine that could be any length you wanted. It looked lot cleaner than our old tires tied to the dock. But our tires were free and do the job, thousand$ more saved in lieu of tidy looking docks.
Saw lot of kayaks made of every kind of material you can think of. My favorites were the wood strip ones tho. They were gorgeous, the wood inlaid in different colours to make beautiful designs. If I ever get this boat finished, I would love to try building one of my own.There just something about a wood boat....
(aside: I finally took my little kayak out the other day for the first time. I dont think the kayak I bought is really the one I need. It was very hard to control , often swinging around backwards for no apparent reason. After about 10 minutes of flailing about in which I only managed to get about 200 feet upstream, I gave up and did unintentional donuts all the way back to my dock. I think I will try to resell it and put the money towards a ocean kayak with a rudder. Live and learn!)
I had bought a used Garmin GPS recently, but it didnt come with the instruction book or any of the gizmos its supposed to. I had finally found a website for them, but its based in the USA. They had a booth at the show, so I got lots of useful info from them and found a few local shops that sell them. I didnt pay much for the unit, but it looks like I need about 500$ worth of stuff to make it useful for my needs. I also found the guys that sell navagational charts for use on a laptop that I can use with the GPS to see where I am when out on the water. I dont trust my non-existant navigational skills, so am not ashamed to use all the technology available to me.
After a few hours of checking out all the exibitors, we finally made it down to the main floor where all the boats were. Of course they were all shiny new plastic boats which didnt do much for me, other than stagger me with their huge price tags. All that money, just to bomb around a lake for the day, I dont think I could ever justify it. They had a huge houseboat worth 1/4 million that was the only thing that interested me. Mostly I was envious of all the space on it and the huge top deck with a hottub. My outdoor space is very limited on my boat,and a real kitchen would be nice, but I still wouldn't trade it for that one. It was just too plastic and void of character to suit me. Saw a few nice boats that would have been awesome for the salvage business and a few that were just over the top in every way( too big, too fancy a paint job, way to big of a sound system.....the kind of boat that would just piss everyone off but cool to look at. Think batmobile type of boat..you get the picture).
All in all , an informative day for me. I have to say of all the boats I saw today, I still like mine the best. I have alot of work to do on it yet, but cant wait for the day when I can go and cruise the Georgia Strait. We live in such an awesome place for boating, tons of Islands and inlets to explore, I can't wait.
It was great, there were hundreds of info booths dealing with every aspect of boating. One of the first booths I ran across was for a wooden boat society that I didnt even know existed here down in Steveston. I had a good chat with one of the members that gave me some good contacts to call regarding redoing the woodwork on my boat. She had just finished redoing her 26 foot boat to the tune of 35,000$ OUCH!!
It looks like I will have to learn how to do it myself if I want mine redone. I want to retire in this lifetime!
I saw a nice refrigerator I would love to have , its a bit taller and deeper than mine and the freezer is separate from the fridge. Its also 1800$, so will be way down on the wish list for now, but good to know they make a larger model that would still fit on the boat.
Another thing we saw that interested me was a reverse osmosis water filter that can turn salt water into pure water. It makes 160 gallons of water a day, way more then I would ever use. The price tag was a hefty 4000$, but something to think about in the future.
We saw lots of different kind of docks, floatation systems and bumpers. Most were horrendously expensive. Its funny I never gave much thought to docks before, but after hearing about the prices people charge to build them and being outraged ( they really dont look like much for the price) I wasnt too suprised by the prices at the show. Im used to our wooden ones down here built over styrofoam blocks or 45 gallon steel drums, so was interested to see all the other options out there. One company makes ones out of plastic that snap together like a big mechano set. Very clean and durable looking but super expensive. Another company made bumpers on a machine that could be any length you wanted. It looked lot cleaner than our old tires tied to the dock. But our tires were free and do the job, thousand$ more saved in lieu of tidy looking docks.
Saw lot of kayaks made of every kind of material you can think of. My favorites were the wood strip ones tho. They were gorgeous, the wood inlaid in different colours to make beautiful designs. If I ever get this boat finished, I would love to try building one of my own.There just something about a wood boat....
(aside: I finally took my little kayak out the other day for the first time. I dont think the kayak I bought is really the one I need. It was very hard to control , often swinging around backwards for no apparent reason. After about 10 minutes of flailing about in which I only managed to get about 200 feet upstream, I gave up and did unintentional donuts all the way back to my dock. I think I will try to resell it and put the money towards a ocean kayak with a rudder. Live and learn!)
I had bought a used Garmin GPS recently, but it didnt come with the instruction book or any of the gizmos its supposed to. I had finally found a website for them, but its based in the USA. They had a booth at the show, so I got lots of useful info from them and found a few local shops that sell them. I didnt pay much for the unit, but it looks like I need about 500$ worth of stuff to make it useful for my needs. I also found the guys that sell navagational charts for use on a laptop that I can use with the GPS to see where I am when out on the water. I dont trust my non-existant navigational skills, so am not ashamed to use all the technology available to me.
After a few hours of checking out all the exibitors, we finally made it down to the main floor where all the boats were. Of course they were all shiny new plastic boats which didnt do much for me, other than stagger me with their huge price tags. All that money, just to bomb around a lake for the day, I dont think I could ever justify it. They had a huge houseboat worth 1/4 million that was the only thing that interested me. Mostly I was envious of all the space on it and the huge top deck with a hottub. My outdoor space is very limited on my boat,and a real kitchen would be nice, but I still wouldn't trade it for that one. It was just too plastic and void of character to suit me. Saw a few nice boats that would have been awesome for the salvage business and a few that were just over the top in every way( too big, too fancy a paint job, way to big of a sound system.....the kind of boat that would just piss everyone off but cool to look at. Think batmobile type of boat..you get the picture).
All in all , an informative day for me. I have to say of all the boats I saw today, I still like mine the best. I have alot of work to do on it yet, but cant wait for the day when I can go and cruise the Georgia Strait. We live in such an awesome place for boating, tons of Islands and inlets to explore, I can't wait.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
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!
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!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
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
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
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