Tuesday, March 17, 2009
One Less Hole in the Ocean
With a heavy heart and thousands of tears shed throughout the day, the Lucky 7 finally met her demise. Everything that could be salvaged from the boat was removed and then with the screech and roar of saws and a bobcat she was most ungracefully dismantled and unceremoniously thrown into a dumpster. I am heartbroken that my beautiful home and all my effort came to this in the end. Farewell my friend , it was a joy spending time with you, lots of good memories, Im so sorry I couldnt save you.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Friday the 13th
I had a funny feeling when I saw that boat the other day to not get too excited by it and I was right. We were half way out there today to start cleaning her up when we got a call saying she had sunk again.
This time the damage was much worse, it looks like she is about to split in half. So I will not be taking on that project after all. It's too bad, that boat definately had the space that I wanted/needed but in the end it was just another old rotting wooden boat. I think I have finally learned my lesson on that. Its too bad as I love the look and energy of wood, but the upkeep factor on a wood boat seems never ending. I read a great quote the other day about maintaining the wood on a teak deck. They said "the upkeep work starts about 10 minutes after its been installed and will continue until the boat has been abandoned". I almost pissed myself laughing, only 'cause I know that is really the truth of it all.
So its back to the drawing board. I am going to focus my energy on looking for a barge to build on. Boats are too restrictive in size and too prone to sinking for my liking. I want something that doesnt require a bilge pump or polishing once a week.
Boy this year has been wierd for me so far, its only 11 weeks into it and it feels like 10 years ago since New Years Eve to me. Can't wait to see what the rest of the year has to bring!
This time the damage was much worse, it looks like she is about to split in half. So I will not be taking on that project after all. It's too bad, that boat definately had the space that I wanted/needed but in the end it was just another old rotting wooden boat. I think I have finally learned my lesson on that. Its too bad as I love the look and energy of wood, but the upkeep factor on a wood boat seems never ending. I read a great quote the other day about maintaining the wood on a teak deck. They said "the upkeep work starts about 10 minutes after its been installed and will continue until the boat has been abandoned". I almost pissed myself laughing, only 'cause I know that is really the truth of it all.
So its back to the drawing board. I am going to focus my energy on looking for a barge to build on. Boats are too restrictive in size and too prone to sinking for my liking. I want something that doesnt require a bilge pump or polishing once a week.
Boy this year has been wierd for me so far, its only 11 weeks into it and it feels like 10 years ago since New Years Eve to me. Can't wait to see what the rest of the year has to bring!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Manifested Dreams
It's strange how life works. Last year David was out in Mission and he took a bunch of pictures of a 70 foot boat that he thought I would like. The pictures intrigued me but I never made it out there to see it or gave it anymore thought. Well he was out there again the other day and saw that same boat sunk at the marina. He asked me if he could bring it up would I be interested in it? As you all know , Ive been moaning about space forever and 70 feet sounds alot better than 30 so I said I would definately want to check it out. He got a hold of the boat owner and found out he had already pulled it up and was going to remove the engines and crush it. David made a deal with him to help him pull out the motors if I could keep the boat. So its a done deal!
Yes folks , you heard right . I am the proud new owner of 70 feet of wooden history. Apparently the Queen has gone cruising on this boat!
It has over 1000 square feet of space inside, whoohoo!!!!!! There is a full size fridge, stove, washer /dryer, small deep freeze, 4 bedrooms, 2 heads, 1 shower,a large kitchen with ooodles of counter space and room for a real table and best of all deck space. A covered deck on the back with somewhere to hang my hammock, and lots of deck up top to tan and lounge outside. There are several areas I could use for a workshop and once the motors and gas tanks are removed, I will have a decent size storage space available for water/sewage tanks or just storage in general.
Ive got my work cut out for me . It's a mess from being under water. I need to haul out all the garbage, powerwash it from top to bottom, dry it out and paint the whole thing inside and out. There is some damage to the right topsides and the left side of both roofs are a bit crushed. Im curious to see if the decks leak or not. If they do, I will need to get on that right away. The railings are gorgeous but need to be refinished and there are miles of them! The space inside is basically a blank canvas that I can design any way that suits me. I can't wait to create my dream home on it.
So here are some pics. I know she looks a sight now, but there is tons of potential here. Im thinking "Freedom 55" lol. Give myself 5 years to get her beautiful and fully functioning. Ideally I would love to be off grid. I would like a water distiller, wind/solar power and a composting toilet. All things to work towards. In the meantime, I'll have lots of wood to polish and cabinets to build.
My new palace
Decks Galore!
The Wheelhouse which will probably become the workshop/craftroom or the summer salon
The interior salon looking forward to the galley which is below the windows
The interior salon looking back to the entrance and the stairs down to 3 bedrooms and the toilet and shower
The Galley
The rest of the galley
The fabulous back deck where I plan to spend many hours watching the sunset from my hammock
It looks like I will be chopping up my old boat as it needs to get out of the shop its in. I hate to do it, but it needs so much work, there is really not much left of it. I will try and salvage any goodies like the bathtub and portholes etc. Im glad I had the year to live on that boat. I learned so much from that experience. I think I am a lot better prepared to make a go of it on the new boat. The fact that I have a fairly gutted interior to work with means I can insulate and prepare cabinitry that suits my needs right from the start.
So here we go again......this should be interesting :)
Yes folks , you heard right . I am the proud new owner of 70 feet of wooden history. Apparently the Queen has gone cruising on this boat!
It has over 1000 square feet of space inside, whoohoo!!!!!! There is a full size fridge, stove, washer /dryer, small deep freeze, 4 bedrooms, 2 heads, 1 shower,a large kitchen with ooodles of counter space and room for a real table and best of all deck space. A covered deck on the back with somewhere to hang my hammock, and lots of deck up top to tan and lounge outside. There are several areas I could use for a workshop and once the motors and gas tanks are removed, I will have a decent size storage space available for water/sewage tanks or just storage in general.
Ive got my work cut out for me . It's a mess from being under water. I need to haul out all the garbage, powerwash it from top to bottom, dry it out and paint the whole thing inside and out. There is some damage to the right topsides and the left side of both roofs are a bit crushed. Im curious to see if the decks leak or not. If they do, I will need to get on that right away. The railings are gorgeous but need to be refinished and there are miles of them! The space inside is basically a blank canvas that I can design any way that suits me. I can't wait to create my dream home on it.
So here are some pics. I know she looks a sight now, but there is tons of potential here. Im thinking "Freedom 55" lol. Give myself 5 years to get her beautiful and fully functioning. Ideally I would love to be off grid. I would like a water distiller, wind/solar power and a composting toilet. All things to work towards. In the meantime, I'll have lots of wood to polish and cabinets to build.
My new palace
Decks Galore!
The Wheelhouse which will probably become the workshop/craftroom or the summer salon
The interior salon looking forward to the galley which is below the windows
The interior salon looking back to the entrance and the stairs down to 3 bedrooms and the toilet and shower
The Galley
The rest of the galley
The fabulous back deck where I plan to spend many hours watching the sunset from my hammock
It looks like I will be chopping up my old boat as it needs to get out of the shop its in. I hate to do it, but it needs so much work, there is really not much left of it. I will try and salvage any goodies like the bathtub and portholes etc. Im glad I had the year to live on that boat. I learned so much from that experience. I think I am a lot better prepared to make a go of it on the new boat. The fact that I have a fairly gutted interior to work with means I can insulate and prepare cabinitry that suits my needs right from the start.
So here we go again......this should be interesting :)
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Good News !
Good news, the boat is salvagable! ( HUGE sigh of relief) The shipwright came by this morning and informed me that I could recaulk the boat with sikaflex and paint over it and it would be good enough for sitting at a dock. It seems the biggest mistake I made in rebuilding the boat was not off-centering the new boards. It's too much of a weakness in the structure to have all the seams in the same place. I knew that from reading a book on boatbuilding but as I was originally planning to fiberglass it didn't seem an important issue at the time. I suppose if I really wanted to I could remove the boards and redo it but time is running out for me here so think I will forge on ahead. I don't really care if the boat is seaworthy, I don't plan to take it out unless it's to change location,as long as it floats and doesn't leak, I'll be happy
This seems do-able to me. I just need to get the top and side decks rebuilt and then I can use an airgun to spray the sikaflex in , then paint and I'm back in the water. Whoohoo.( well that and a million other little details like installing all new through hulls etc ,etc but as long as I have a structure to work with, its all good)
This seems do-able to me. I just need to get the top and side decks rebuilt and then I can use an airgun to spray the sikaflex in , then paint and I'm back in the water. Whoohoo.( well that and a million other little details like installing all new through hulls etc ,etc but as long as I have a structure to work with, its all good)
Sunday, March 1, 2009
April Fools
Opps, not April yet? Oh well, deal with it, I had to. So February was possibly the stupidest month of my life. I am still reeling from it all. I was all set to give up on the boat. I was tired of hearing how my boat was taking up space in the shop and was too overwhelmed and cold to do anything about finishing the renos. I spent weeks packing and moving all my stuff from the apartment, the boat and Davids house and putting it in storage. I then moved a few vanloads of stuff over to Ricks. Once I got there Rick wanted to clear the back pasture and the basement, so I spent another week or two moving more stuff in between working at my job. I was feeling underfoot at Ricks and the insecurity of knowing that I couldnt relax there and wait for the universe to do its thing prompted me to move back out. As the apartment hadn't been rented out yet , I ended up moving back in here for the time being. I can't believe I just spent a whole month moving my shit in circles. I really feel like I'm going mad. The one thing this taught me though is how much I missed having my own space so I'm much more motivated to get the boat put back together again.
Soooo as far as the boat is concerned, this is the new plan. As I was inspecting things where the side decks attach to the main cabin, I couldn't help but notice that anything that looked like support was rotten. As I removed more of the structure it just got worse. This is when I really wanted to give up as now I was going to lose the thing that made the boat special to me, its character in the hand carved wood in the cabin. Then one day when I was looking online I found a picture of a boat that looks very similar to mine. I liked the top cabin and extra deck space it afforded. I was also realizing that the design of my cabin with its sloped windows was always going to be a problem as far as keeping things waterproof inside.
Their Boat
My boat
So I've done something completely radical and totally unthought of until now. I cut the whole cabin off! I want to extend the white cabin on the back all the way to front of where the windows used to be and build the upper cabin as in the picture of the other boat. I will lose the 10 foot high ceiling in the living room but it isn't so bad. There is still room for someone close to 6 feet tall to stand up inside and Im short so it will suit me fine. The square box will be so much easier to fiberglass then the cabin the way it was.
The cabin cut off
Im also going to remove the woodstove and the stand it was on as well as the staircase on that side and build a dinette area in its place. I liked the woodstove for its blasting heat but it was a fire hazard and keeping up with the demand for wood was a time consuming pain. I'm going to install the propane furnace and if it isn't enough I will buy a small furnace that burns presto log bits. Having a proper table to sit at to eat will be so nice. Once the top is built, I will insulate it and the interior of the hull and cover the inside with tongue and groove to restore the wood look without all the drafts.
A view inside of the cabinless boat(the stairs and woodstove on the right will be removed to make place for the dinette)
As the boat never leaked from sitting in the water I am hoping that I can recaulk the boat and leave it wooden instead of trying to fiberglass the hull. It was only the fact that I had rotten boards and the decks leaked that were the problem. I have no problem fiberglassing the top deck and roof. I will have to talk to someone in the boat building industry and see if I can do this still or if its too late with the way I have done things. Keep your fingers crossed for me please.
I have to say I had never gotten around to reading the blog called the Wendy Ann 2 before but all the other blogs I read were going on about them finally launching their boat. I got curious so read the whole blog in one sitting from beginning to end. What an inspiration that was! I feel a right fool for sniveling about my lot after seeing the size of their job and the sacrifices they made to get the job done and well done too if I say so myself.
I think what they have over me is ,for one thing, they are a couple that support each other and their dream for this to happen. They only had this one project to focus on ( as opposed to David and his one hundred and one things on the go) and they had friends who came by and helped. I have basically had my hands tied for much of the time as I couldnt beg or pay people to help me and being alone with no clue was so daunting I just gave up. Well we will see how much further I get with it now. Thanks to the folks with the Wendy Ann 2 and the inspiration they have given me, hopefully one day soon, I will be having my own launch party.
Soooo as far as the boat is concerned, this is the new plan. As I was inspecting things where the side decks attach to the main cabin, I couldn't help but notice that anything that looked like support was rotten. As I removed more of the structure it just got worse. This is when I really wanted to give up as now I was going to lose the thing that made the boat special to me, its character in the hand carved wood in the cabin. Then one day when I was looking online I found a picture of a boat that looks very similar to mine. I liked the top cabin and extra deck space it afforded. I was also realizing that the design of my cabin with its sloped windows was always going to be a problem as far as keeping things waterproof inside.
Their Boat
My boat
So I've done something completely radical and totally unthought of until now. I cut the whole cabin off! I want to extend the white cabin on the back all the way to front of where the windows used to be and build the upper cabin as in the picture of the other boat. I will lose the 10 foot high ceiling in the living room but it isn't so bad. There is still room for someone close to 6 feet tall to stand up inside and Im short so it will suit me fine. The square box will be so much easier to fiberglass then the cabin the way it was.
The cabin cut off
Im also going to remove the woodstove and the stand it was on as well as the staircase on that side and build a dinette area in its place. I liked the woodstove for its blasting heat but it was a fire hazard and keeping up with the demand for wood was a time consuming pain. I'm going to install the propane furnace and if it isn't enough I will buy a small furnace that burns presto log bits. Having a proper table to sit at to eat will be so nice. Once the top is built, I will insulate it and the interior of the hull and cover the inside with tongue and groove to restore the wood look without all the drafts.
A view inside of the cabinless boat(the stairs and woodstove on the right will be removed to make place for the dinette)
As the boat never leaked from sitting in the water I am hoping that I can recaulk the boat and leave it wooden instead of trying to fiberglass the hull. It was only the fact that I had rotten boards and the decks leaked that were the problem. I have no problem fiberglassing the top deck and roof. I will have to talk to someone in the boat building industry and see if I can do this still or if its too late with the way I have done things. Keep your fingers crossed for me please.
I have to say I had never gotten around to reading the blog called the Wendy Ann 2 before but all the other blogs I read were going on about them finally launching their boat. I got curious so read the whole blog in one sitting from beginning to end. What an inspiration that was! I feel a right fool for sniveling about my lot after seeing the size of their job and the sacrifices they made to get the job done and well done too if I say so myself.
I think what they have over me is ,for one thing, they are a couple that support each other and their dream for this to happen. They only had this one project to focus on ( as opposed to David and his one hundred and one things on the go) and they had friends who came by and helped. I have basically had my hands tied for much of the time as I couldnt beg or pay people to help me and being alone with no clue was so daunting I just gave up. Well we will see how much further I get with it now. Thanks to the folks with the Wendy Ann 2 and the inspiration they have given me, hopefully one day soon, I will be having my own launch party.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Day 51 - A Smoking Diary Update
Day 51- Wow! I cannot believe its been that long already, my how time flies when your jonesing for a smoke. I am still a mess, super emotional, lots of anger, depression, sadness and edginess. It seems like everyone is out to piss me off (they are not really, I'm sure, but that how life looks through withdrawal goggles). I hate feeling like this, its not me at all, at least I hope its not.
I'm sure some of it has to do with the state of my life right now. I hate not having some kind of plan or focus for my life. As long as I have a goal, I am the tenaceous mountain goat, scrambling her way to the top of the challenge. Without somewhere to focus that energy, I am the balloon that got away just before you got the knot in it, bouncing off the walls in a wild frenzy till I'm spent and deflated.
Ive spent the last two weeks packing and moving everything I own and putting it into storage. I ended up filling a twenty foot container to the brim. The scary thing is, almost nothing in there is furniture, its just all stuff.It all seems useful and has a purpose but I could just as easily not need any of it. I wonder if I will ever see any of it again? I have no idea what to do next. I liked having my own home and living on the water. I dont want to give up the dream of having what I want, but without a crystal ball to tell me if its coming my way or not and when, I don't know how much to commit to getting into a lease situation on an apartment or house.
I really like having my own space. While I appreciate the company of a roomate, I prefer my own home. Even apartments I find constricting and annoying with their no pet rules and noisy neighbors. I can be quite the hermit to be honest, I need my own hermit cave. Hmmm... I'm picturing it already, the little stream running past the front door,pretty vines climbing around the entrance,birds serenading me from the trees,....sigh.
Oh where was I? Right, so not sure what to do next. I cant stay at Ricks for much longer, I am definately in the way here. The cost to rent a normal place in Vancouver is astronomical and I dont want to keep moving in and out of places. I might end up living in my van for awhile until I see where life takes me. It will allow me to save some money so that if a good opportunity does come up I have the means to make it happen.
I bought my cat a harness and leash today so if it does come to that, I can get him out for walks and fresh air. I feel guilty about the cat. He has been cooped up in my bedroom for the last two weeks. Rick has a cat that gets quite distraught with other cats around, so to keep the peace, I've kept Casper locked up. I have taken him back to the marina several times so he can run and stretch his legs and have a good play with David. He really seems to enjoy these outings and he sleeps like a log afterwards.
I had started going to the gym on a regular basis with all good intentions. That lasted for a few weeks, but the last two weeks have been hectic with work and moving. I've still managed to lose five pounds since New Years and keep it off, so I am happy with that. I would like to get back on track though as I was training for a sprint triathalon and was really curious to see if I could go the distance or not.
In the spirit of getting off my ass, I bought a pair of boys hockey skates at a second hand store and want to go for a skate at the speed skating oval. I have never tried boys skates before, I used to be a figure skater. I wonder how much I will miss the pick? I'm thinking a lot, but it will be interesting to see. I just cant wait to get on the ice. It's probably been 30-40 years since I last skated but I often have dreams where I can skate beautifully and it feels so good and graceful to do. I'm sure the reality will look like staggering, flailing and a sore bum but I'm eager to give it a go. Silly me :)
And speaking of my youth, I was tracked down on facebook by an old friend of mine recently. We had first met when I was 18 living in Lahr Germany during my air force brat days. I have run into her several times over the years. We both lived in Chilliwack for a while in the early 80's and later both migrated to Vancouver for awhile. We lost touch for years when I went out to Quebec,but found each other again around 2000. When I left to go to the fishing resort a few years later, we lost each other again. Last night I was invited to her sisters house for a special Christmas dinner with all their friends. What a hoot! Awesome full course turkey dinner, lots of belly laughs and so great to reconnect with people that I thought were cool 30 years ago, and am still proud to call my friends.
Its too bad they didn't have facebook when we were growing up. We were commenting on how lucky we felt we were to have had childhoods without video games and internet to distract us but the one downfall of a military lifestyle was the moving on of friends.I lost touch with so many people in my life because the technology wasn't there to make it easy. Luckily some of that has changed recently. I was inspired by my friend tracking me down, so I started to search for other people from my past and found quite a few. Its been so great to find out what ever happened to them and to find out, that they had thought of me in return. Nice to know, someone noticed my life here on earth.
I'm sure some of it has to do with the state of my life right now. I hate not having some kind of plan or focus for my life. As long as I have a goal, I am the tenaceous mountain goat, scrambling her way to the top of the challenge. Without somewhere to focus that energy, I am the balloon that got away just before you got the knot in it, bouncing off the walls in a wild frenzy till I'm spent and deflated.
Ive spent the last two weeks packing and moving everything I own and putting it into storage. I ended up filling a twenty foot container to the brim. The scary thing is, almost nothing in there is furniture, its just all stuff.It all seems useful and has a purpose but I could just as easily not need any of it. I wonder if I will ever see any of it again? I have no idea what to do next. I liked having my own home and living on the water. I dont want to give up the dream of having what I want, but without a crystal ball to tell me if its coming my way or not and when, I don't know how much to commit to getting into a lease situation on an apartment or house.
I really like having my own space. While I appreciate the company of a roomate, I prefer my own home. Even apartments I find constricting and annoying with their no pet rules and noisy neighbors. I can be quite the hermit to be honest, I need my own hermit cave. Hmmm... I'm picturing it already, the little stream running past the front door,pretty vines climbing around the entrance,birds serenading me from the trees,....sigh.
Oh where was I? Right, so not sure what to do next. I cant stay at Ricks for much longer, I am definately in the way here. The cost to rent a normal place in Vancouver is astronomical and I dont want to keep moving in and out of places. I might end up living in my van for awhile until I see where life takes me. It will allow me to save some money so that if a good opportunity does come up I have the means to make it happen.
I bought my cat a harness and leash today so if it does come to that, I can get him out for walks and fresh air. I feel guilty about the cat. He has been cooped up in my bedroom for the last two weeks. Rick has a cat that gets quite distraught with other cats around, so to keep the peace, I've kept Casper locked up. I have taken him back to the marina several times so he can run and stretch his legs and have a good play with David. He really seems to enjoy these outings and he sleeps like a log afterwards.
I had started going to the gym on a regular basis with all good intentions. That lasted for a few weeks, but the last two weeks have been hectic with work and moving. I've still managed to lose five pounds since New Years and keep it off, so I am happy with that. I would like to get back on track though as I was training for a sprint triathalon and was really curious to see if I could go the distance or not.
In the spirit of getting off my ass, I bought a pair of boys hockey skates at a second hand store and want to go for a skate at the speed skating oval. I have never tried boys skates before, I used to be a figure skater. I wonder how much I will miss the pick? I'm thinking a lot, but it will be interesting to see. I just cant wait to get on the ice. It's probably been 30-40 years since I last skated but I often have dreams where I can skate beautifully and it feels so good and graceful to do. I'm sure the reality will look like staggering, flailing and a sore bum but I'm eager to give it a go. Silly me :)
And speaking of my youth, I was tracked down on facebook by an old friend of mine recently. We had first met when I was 18 living in Lahr Germany during my air force brat days. I have run into her several times over the years. We both lived in Chilliwack for a while in the early 80's and later both migrated to Vancouver for awhile. We lost touch for years when I went out to Quebec,but found each other again around 2000. When I left to go to the fishing resort a few years later, we lost each other again. Last night I was invited to her sisters house for a special Christmas dinner with all their friends. What a hoot! Awesome full course turkey dinner, lots of belly laughs and so great to reconnect with people that I thought were cool 30 years ago, and am still proud to call my friends.
Its too bad they didn't have facebook when we were growing up. We were commenting on how lucky we felt we were to have had childhoods without video games and internet to distract us but the one downfall of a military lifestyle was the moving on of friends.I lost touch with so many people in my life because the technology wasn't there to make it easy. Luckily some of that has changed recently. I was inspired by my friend tracking me down, so I started to search for other people from my past and found quite a few. Its been so great to find out what ever happened to them and to find out, that they had thought of me in return. Nice to know, someone noticed my life here on earth.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Another Chapter Comes to a Close
Well it looks like my life on the water is over for now. I have put almost all my belongings in storage and have moved back to my old house for some couch surfing until I can figure out what direction to go in next. I took a very good look at the boat and have decided it is way too far gone. The whole cabin is rotten through and through. My best bet would be to gut the boat and rebuild it. I didn't sign up to be a boat builder. These repairs have gotten too far out of hand. There isn't one inch of that boat that doesn't need work done to it. I do not have the skills, patience, time or money to do it justice.
I will offer it up as a project and see if anyone wants to take it on. If no one does, then I will strip it of all hardware and turn it into firewood. Its not the way I wanted things to go but I don't consider this quitting, just being smart enough to realize that I am in way over my head and would rather put my money and energy somewhere else.
Im glad I got to try life on a boat for a whole year. It was definately a learning experience in oh so many ways. I learned how to live with less. Less stuff, less space, less privacy, less spare time, less money, less heat. I also got more wildlife, more sunsets, more midnight adventures, more life skills and the chance to feel a bit like a pioneer for awhile. I chopped wood and carried water. I battled the elements and won. I was the Captain of my own destiny on the good ship Lucky 7.
I still want to live on the water but next time I want a floathome. If I ever got another boat, it would be in addition to the home and would be a (not wooden)sailboat. After experiencing the price of gas last summer, I would prefer a boat that has a cheaper, more environmently correct mode of getting around. It would be nice to have something seaworthy that I could technically sail to other lands.
I miss being rocked asleep by the gentle embrace of the water. I miss the satisfaction of knowing I survived another day with all the river could throw at me. I miss my little Hobbitt House and the sense of security I had knowing I had a home of my own for a minute. It seems to be my destiny to taste alot of what life has to offer but to never settle into anything permanantly. Once I've learned everything I want to know or had the experience it's time to move on and try something new.
I don't know if I will get back to the water. I don't know what life has in store for me now. It seems like a good time for something interesting to happen. The universe appears to be lightening my load and severing my connections with everything that consumed me last year. Right now I basically have no home, no boyfriend, no job, no belongings, one vehicle that is not running and another on its last legs. I should be worried but feel a strange sense of calm, a knowing that I don't have to fight this. The winds could blow me in any direction and I would be free to go.
Sheesh, this year is only six weeks old and my life has done a complete 180 since New Years. The quitting smoking is going well. I still get lots of cravings and mood swings. To that end I'm trying everything I can to detox and get a healthy lifestyle going on. I'm training for a sprint distance triathalon. I'm at the gym most nights doing a combo of stretching, weights, cardio and swimming. I've started a herbal detox program and am eating much healthier than I have for years. I've lost five pounds in the last two weeks and hope to make that twenty-five more before summer hits.
I didn't read this in the owners manual but....is it normal to purge your whole life when you turn 50??
I will offer it up as a project and see if anyone wants to take it on. If no one does, then I will strip it of all hardware and turn it into firewood. Its not the way I wanted things to go but I don't consider this quitting, just being smart enough to realize that I am in way over my head and would rather put my money and energy somewhere else.
Im glad I got to try life on a boat for a whole year. It was definately a learning experience in oh so many ways. I learned how to live with less. Less stuff, less space, less privacy, less spare time, less money, less heat. I also got more wildlife, more sunsets, more midnight adventures, more life skills and the chance to feel a bit like a pioneer for awhile. I chopped wood and carried water. I battled the elements and won. I was the Captain of my own destiny on the good ship Lucky 7.
I still want to live on the water but next time I want a floathome. If I ever got another boat, it would be in addition to the home and would be a (not wooden)sailboat. After experiencing the price of gas last summer, I would prefer a boat that has a cheaper, more environmently correct mode of getting around. It would be nice to have something seaworthy that I could technically sail to other lands.
I miss being rocked asleep by the gentle embrace of the water. I miss the satisfaction of knowing I survived another day with all the river could throw at me. I miss my little Hobbitt House and the sense of security I had knowing I had a home of my own for a minute. It seems to be my destiny to taste alot of what life has to offer but to never settle into anything permanantly. Once I've learned everything I want to know or had the experience it's time to move on and try something new.
I don't know if I will get back to the water. I don't know what life has in store for me now. It seems like a good time for something interesting to happen. The universe appears to be lightening my load and severing my connections with everything that consumed me last year. Right now I basically have no home, no boyfriend, no job, no belongings, one vehicle that is not running and another on its last legs. I should be worried but feel a strange sense of calm, a knowing that I don't have to fight this. The winds could blow me in any direction and I would be free to go.
Sheesh, this year is only six weeks old and my life has done a complete 180 since New Years. The quitting smoking is going well. I still get lots of cravings and mood swings. To that end I'm trying everything I can to detox and get a healthy lifestyle going on. I'm training for a sprint distance triathalon. I'm at the gym most nights doing a combo of stretching, weights, cardio and swimming. I've started a herbal detox program and am eating much healthier than I have for years. I've lost five pounds in the last two weeks and hope to make that twenty-five more before summer hits.
I didn't read this in the owners manual but....is it normal to purge your whole life when you turn 50??
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