Archive for the ‘Daily Living’ Category

If you read my story below about the right feet washing up on the BC shores, you’ll understand how important it is to wear good footwear.

I love seeing a man wearing cowboy boots - of course he needs to have both feet still attached to his body! Cavender’s Boot City has a huge selection of western fashion including Stetson hats, boots, jeans, shirts. From Tack Room to Board Room, Cavender’s outfits in style!

Power and sail boaters are usually serious board game players. There isn’t much else to do when you are at anchor and the rain is beating on the roof. You go outside, you get wet - your clothes get we - and it takes forever to dry wet coats and boots. So, you stay in and entertain the kids and adults with a game.

I have one precious onboard cupboard full of every type game imaginable, from crib to Backgammon to my new Texas Hold ‘Em set. Storage is hard to come by on a boat and every nook and cranny is used for important ’stuff’. During our years of boating, I’ve stashed quite a collection into my little corner.

Of course we are often alone onboard and Kent doesn’t play boardgames, so I play online backgammon with other online players. I love the fact I can connect with other people around the world to match my wits and the online games take up no space other than my computer which I never leave home without anyway!

Backgammon online is simple to learn and play - even if you are a novice. Download the software, play for free, or for money. There are tournaments to enter, rooms to play and lots of competition. Be sure to read the etiquette and rules before playing. Then join the fun to play others around the world.

BG is the name, BackGammon is the Game!

Sad to say, my laptop is broken. I used my new aircard for a day and a half then the plugin on the back of my computer was somehow damaged… the battery won’t charge. Hopefully, I’ll get it repaired under warranty… so the only way I can write a post right now is when I’m at the museum - paying for computer time

Oh, woe is me… poor, poor me… Okay, if you feel sorry for me now, that’s good! Ha, I’ll be back soon, so don’t go too far away

Meantime - I’ll try to post a few pictures.

Saturday evening Crystal was in a 6 car pile up in the Deas Tunnel and was rear ended - hard enough to push the car right into the back end of a pick up truck and to cause her and MY car damage. She was in shock for a couple of days, has a sore back, muscle relaxants, a police report, doctors appointments, ICBC appointments, a story to tell - and me… I have a car which had very low mileage, garage kept, was in perfect condition, one owner and destined to become a ‘collector’. Now, I have a piece of s**t car… no, what am I talking about - actually I don’t even have a car - it’s in the wrecker’s yard.

Do I sound bitter? Maybe just a tad - this car was my 50th birthday present from Kent - 5 1/2 years ago and I was proud of the fact it was still in nearly perfect condition - other than one insignificant ‘rub’ which perhaps happened in a parking lot. Crystal and I had just talked about the fact I didn’t want mileage put on my car and it was safer sitting in the garage, but she REALLY, REALLy wanted to borrow it for a special date. It was Trevor’s birthday and she was driving him downtown and they were going out with a group of friends. I knew my car would be sitting in a secure garage overnight and she doesn’t drink and drive - so I let her take it. My mistake.

Sure enough, traffic came to a sudden stop in the tunnel, with the truck and car ahead rear-ending someone who stopped because someone else stopped ahead of him. Crystal was able to stop before rear-ending the truck in front, but the car behind was following too close, going too fast and slammed into the rear end of my car, slamming it into the truck in front. Lucky, it wasn’t an 18 wheeler or a larger car following her as my car accordianed with the impact and the damage to Crystal and Trevor would have significantly increased - never mind the car.

Anyway, Crystal took photos for the insurance company - and me as she knew I would blog it. Every fire fighter, ambulance attendant, and policeman in their BDU Pants were out in full force as any accident in the tunnel is always major, usually causing serious injuries, traffic snarls for hours and headaches (and lots of work) for the tow trucks.

BC is bursting out in buds!

Hugo and I walked the dyke today, twice, to the marina and back. It was a lovely, warm, sunny day and the flowers were showing off.

Even the dyke looked rather attractive and enticing!

At the marina this morning there was not a breath of wind, but by afternoon a slight breeze picked up, making the air very chilly. The ducks didn’t seem to mind.

We’re having a canvas enclosure put on the command bridge and it’s nearly completed. The canvas man has been sewing and fitting for a week and it’s taking shape. Power boating in BC is quite challenging at times with the amount of rainfall. With the new enclosure, we’ll have another lovely warm area to sit, out of the wind and rain and best of all, we’ll be able to leave the hatch door in the pilot house open for fresh air - even when it’s raining, as the canvas roof will cover the area.