And this weather phenomenon is called.....

......bullshit.

It's hard to tell, but it's raining and snowing and ice pellets all together.  Today is April 23.

I'm done with, oh, but we need the moisture.  To hell with that....

Sn-rain?  Rai-now? I say it's crap.

 

A pic to say it all

Every time there's an attack on our soil, whether it be foreign, domestic or just a random nutball, I can't help but take a deep breath and say..."What if....?"  I quickly squash that thought down and do what I can from where I am at. Usually it is donating money to Red Cross or going to the blood bank to donate blood.

However, this time, I couldn't squash the feeling down.  My mom's side of the family is in Boston, my uncle's wife ran the marathon for several years.  The initial jab of dread kept growing from 'What if' to 'Please, no'.  It took some time, but my family finally got the 'All Clear' that everybody was accounted for.  With the cell service virtually coming to a stand still (and really, can you find a pay phone anymore?) getting connected was a bit difficult.

My heart goes out to those, whose 'Please no' was not answered.  Stay strong.

To Carlos Arredondo, I am not a religious person, but if there is an afterlife, you have two sons that are bursting with pride of their hero father. 

To everybody who ran TO help, I am very humbled to share this planet with you.

Perseverance

But wait, is that a picture of a......dandelion?

Yes, yes it is.

This fella has been here since last June.  June 2012.  Since then, he's (I don't know why it's a he, but it is) been blasted with Roundup at least twice; endured several days of 100+ temps with no rain, packed in between patio bricks and a hot foundation; buried under a foot of snow at least twice.

Yet, her he (or she) has remained green and growing the entire time.

So, in all ironies, I cannot seem to keep a plant, outdoor annual or ornamental bush alive, but Percy (perseverance, yah?),  being subject to attempted herbicide and extreme weather conditions is still here.

And I think that's pretty damn cool.

However, the spouse says Percy is going to have a date with Roundup pretty soon.

Long live PERCY!

(Paid for by the Save Percy Foundation)

Not necessarily a girlie tool.

I once had a hair dryer on the boat.

We moved the boat to a 'warm' climate. Why would I need a hair dryer?

After one season of suffering hyperthermia of the skull, I decided the time has come replace the hairdryer on the boat.

Running to the nearest restaurant, public restroom looking for a hand dryer to dry your hair really helps you re-evaluate whats important.

So, besides risking freezing hair follicles, the hair dryer has since been commissioned for:

• Drying out leaking port lights and hatches for repair.
• Helping cure any sort of repair job that takes several layers to apply.
• Helping dry out any sort of canvas or cloth that may be stored below for a long period.
• Drying out the ice maker before we leave to prevent mildew formation.

I have to admit, the hair dryer probably has been used more often for boat projects than actually my hair, but that's okay.  I don't get any crap for having it now!

Florida Trip

We went to Florida to see the girl, possibly show her and got to the boat show.

So our trip was something like this.

Fort Lauderdale

Miami

Key West

Miami

Fort Lauderdale

A lot of driving involved. And rain. And once again record cold temps and howling winds. Which had the spouse in a tizzy.

We did, for once, get to spend a lot of time talking to sailors. Our buddy Bob from the marina, some South Carolina folks down at Willie T's and of course the boat show people.

Jody and Bob from Cruising Outpost are doing great.

I think the most bestest part of this trip was getting to test sail our future dream boat (Seaward 46rk).  It was quite fantastic. Actually looking through the family tree now for that lost millionaire uncle, but ancestry.com is failing me.  My parents are trying to help out by playing penny slots and playing the lottery, but I'm not holding my breath.

So, I eventually find the dream job, start learning to code as Bill Gates says, or resort to some sort of malfeasance.

Hmmm. Tough choice.

Here's some pics from the test sail.  Thank you SO MUCH, Rob Parks and Nick Hake, it was a fantastic afternoon.

The spouse is actually steering, this stopped once Nick started using the autopilot himself.

The view from the inside pilot chair.  Didn't take the best picture here.

Under sail. Eventually got the boat sailing at 30 degrees off the wind.
Pretty impressive.

We are under power at this point, long story short, Nick Hake and I are having
a conversation about...funny sounds.
Not the boat, the engine.  The engine with 10 hours on it.

I included the last picture because my my spouse, normally not a shutterbug, kept going asking me to pose.  That is my:  'Not is NOT a good time, talking to the important man now' look.

Yes, I can steer with my armpit quite successfully, so shut up.

Be careful what you wish for....

We are in a drought we said.

We need some moisture ... I think the exact word was rain.

January comes around...70 degrees.

Early February goes around...Key West 58 degrees, Kansas 59 degrees.  Oh yes it was, look it up.  Weather Underground will be happy to fill you in.

Then upon our return from Florida...more on that later.

Snow. Lots of it. Hello Winter Storm Q... and Rocky...and what a freaking minute, winter storms are named after... fictional characters? Nemo.....Gandolf (not Gandalf, that Tolkein's and therefore copyrighted...sheesh, I thought everybody knew that) Oh my, just I just reveal my inner geek? Crap.

Everything was fine at the house.  Except having to shovel the crap out.  As I told my friends, come join me for  the Alpine Incline Snow Shovel Bootcamp workout.  Guaranteed to burn 18,000 calories a minute.

No takers...weenies.

And since I'm very lazy, and my ESS Sabrina has already put in the work, here's the fun up at the lake.

Lake Perry B Dock..two guesses on what is wrong with that picture.

I hope to go up tomorrow to see what Rocky has added to the fun.  But as far as I know... MY boat is okay.  And it's all about me.

However, on the bright side, although it's chilly, it hasn't been unpleasant. For my candy ass, that's saying ALOT.  So, I've actually kinda enjoyed playing with my dogs in the backyard.  BTW--I have a malamute, this is her Disneyland, Utopia, Crack Cocaine, living high on the hog.

The dog we got from Florida two years ago?  Well, she's not so bright so this is her take.

Well, it's wet, kinda cold, but pretty soft.  Can you see me? 

Pretty boats and a pretty bird

One of these pretty boats is mine...after declutter and detailed.

Some of these boats are meant to go a bit faster.

And one is of my new buddy Isabel.

I'll let you figure out what is what.

Live updates of Key West Race Week are here: http://www.premiere-racing.com/KWRWLive/

 

Come on, you know you want her.

 

Sunsets and race boats.....sigh...

 

Bunch o'Melges

The clearer picture is not too flattering to the blog author.  We'll just leave that alone.