The month of anticipation

In one week, we begin our sailing life. J-bird has her name emblazoned on the stern and she's got a lovely marine blue coat of bottom paint. Her hull above the water line has been waxed to a mirror shine. She goes into the water on Monday.

We succeeded in putting a trunk full of equipment and supplies on the boat in March, only to learn from our broker in a moaning and groaning voice that the shipwrights were going to tear the interior apart to install the fans, electronics and anchor wash tubing. Now everything is scattered about, buried among tools, cushions and hoses. However, in the true shopping spirit, we've continued to acquire the essentials -- everything from sunglasses to binoculars, bedding and wax for the deck. Our small trunk is, once again, full to the brim and the dinghy and outboard motor for it are still sitting in the guest room along with charts, a Chesapeake Cruising guide, Chapman's, knot books, and cook books for boaters. My sister generously returned the ones I gave her years ago--she heats more than she cooks.

We can't get all this stuff on the boat until the outfitting is complete and she is sitting in the water. Last weekend, we managed to install our federal id numbers above the door to the aft cabin on the inside. The regulation 3" numbers MD 3922 BX are firmly displayed and painted over with polyurethane. The feds require that the numbers be attached in such a way that if they are removed, it will be obvious.

As we wait for j-bird to be readied, we attended three different courses offered by our marina -- one on safety, one on diesel engines and the last one on navigation. We are ready! We've even carried the boys up the ladder (j-bird sits on sticks right now) so they could walk around her to get acquainted the environs. Fred immediately scooted down the companion way stairs, circled the salon, plopped down on floor and sighed, glad that he was home. This is a good sign. JoeJoe found j-bird to be a curious and strange place. He sniffed and scurried everywhere, never reaxing. Luckily we've got doggy life jackets so he'll float until he calms down and gets the idea of living on the water.

Back at the condo, we are preparing to remove the vertical living room and bedroom blinds that close across sliding glass doors. They'll soon be replaced with graceful draperies that complement the soft gold walls. We're also getting estimates on a built-in bookcase for John's office. He's been working for FedEx for three years (my how time flies) and instead of retiring again, he's staying. He's been promoted and is starting to travel more. Guess he can't say no to such a good thing. I'm still working as an independent communications consultant here in DC. The good news is that I approval to to take Friday's off for the summer and fall. More time to sail. It's been a good month for both of us. Hooray!