Hurricane Season in Baltimore

I have obviously taken a hiatus from my blog. I’ll try to get caught up on what has been happening on s/v Rainy Days with Bob and I.  This will be somewhat like a “What I Did Last Summer” essay (you know the ones you always wrote on the first day of school).  I don’t think students do that anymore.

My summer was taken up for the most part with boat maintenance and projects, visiting family, integrating Lola (our new kitten) into our family, and sewing.

Boat maintenance and projects:

• The boat was at Hartges Yacht Yard in Galesville for 2.5 weeks for yearly maintenance and replacement of the wiring in the mast which required the yard to remove the mast.  This was the first time the mast had ever been removed so we were apprehensive about what they would find, but there were no unusual problems and that repair went smoothly.  
• While the boat was being worked on Bob kept a close eye on the progress while I sewed a sunshade for the cockpit and constructed cushions for the cockpit life lines.  

Joe visited us while we were in Galesville
for our boat work and he and I went Kayaking.  

On our way back to Baltimore from Galesville we stopped

 in Annapolis for a couple of nights.  

We watched a sailing school training sailboat racers.

• Overall we completed over 80 projects such as mounting a new solar panel, water proofing all the sunbrella, installing a new TV and sound system, cleaning and painting the dinghy bottom, installing a new range and fixing the damage to the doorway we had to enlarge to get the old stove out and the new stove in, and a myriad of other smaller projects
• It was a very productive summer!

Visiting family:

• I was able to spend quality time with all my sisters and children which was one of the best parts the summer.
• Laurie and I spent two days together visiting our only living Aunt, Aunt Mary Ruth. We supervised a doctor visit, chatted, and went out to dinner together.
• Becky and I spent a week together at the Outer Banks in NC along with her daughter, son-in-law, grandson, and many of their extended family and friends.  It was a new beach experience for me and I made some great new friends.

Becky and I are relaxing on the veranda.

• Nancy and I drove together up to Sarah Barr’s (Laurie’s daughter) in New Jersey for the Barr’s annual summer party.  I then spent the night at Nancy’s which gave us plenty of time to catch up.

My sisters and I always enjoy a good party together!

• I visited with Rachel, Juan and Lilli in August in Oak Park, IL.  We went to the pool one day, went to a pool party, saw the new “Mission Impossible” movie and ate lots of good food.

Lilli and Rachel enjoying the cool water
on a very hot day.

Lilli and I drip drying after a great swim.

• Next visit was in South Bend, IN to see Grace and her friend Ben.  I got to see Grace in action at her new job, go shopping, and we ate some great meals together.
• From there it was on to Houston to visit my son, Karl, his wife Brandy, her son Maddix, and their son Acen.  Their new house is wonderful with lots of room for everyone.  We went fishing, shopping (for school stuff), and to a trampoline center that was amazing.

Here is the mighty fisherman and his dad.
Karl cleaned and cooked this blue gill
and we all got a taste.

• Next I stopped in Sarasota, FL to visit my children’s grandmother, Claire.  I helped her order a few items she and her husband Fred needed, we went shoe shopping, ate at Longhorn Steak House, and watched some great old movies on Turner Classics channel.
• By the time I got home from that trip it was time for Jessica and Joe to be home from Aspen, CO where Jess spent the summer as the main orchestra manager.  We visited back and forth from the boat to her apartment and spent two glorious days at Bethany Beach in Delaware where the sun and surf were both outstanding….perfect beach days. The cheese steaks, french fries, crab sandwiches, and frozen custard were all perfect, too.

Helping Lola become part of the family:

• She is playful and sweet natured.  This makes her antics (she thinks the whole boat is a giant cat play land) a little over the top sometimes, but she has such a fun loving personality she has endeared herself to us all.
• She has started to venture out to the cockpit and the cabin top, but has not left the boat yet.
• She loves to “help” me sew and “help” Bob with indoor projects.

My sewing helper

She's getting bigger everyday.

Sewing:

 I finished the quilt top and will be having it quilted by a local quilter.

I also completed several garments, sun dresses, capris, tops and sweaters.

So that brings me up to date except for the incident on the way home from the beach on Labor Day.  I was rear ended by a pick up truck while stopped at a red light, taken to the hospital by ambulance, and then taken home by Jess and Joe who had stayed at the beach longer than me.  I have a sprained neck and sore shoulders and arms for which I will receive physical therapy. Hopefully the car will be repaired quickly.

Next blog post will be about our preparations for our annual  migration south.

Thank you for reading my blog.