I never thought I’d ever write a Dear John letter, especially one to a blog. But here I sit, typing the words that spell out our future. It wasn’t an easy decision. Not at first, anyway. But once the thought entered my head, it started to take root. So, I decided to take the summer off to see if I’d change my mind, but I haven’t: It’s time...

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Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} We’re in between “homes” right now, sitting at anchor in a little village  north of Kingston trying to decide our next move. WiFi is hit and miss and the signal through the cellphone isn’t much better – three bars of “edge” coverage. So,...

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I have a little confession to make. I wrote a blog post called “Inspiration Can Be Overrated” a few weeks ago which ended with a promise to write about our misadventures in Southern Puget Sound and included teasers of a singing prop, a surprise visit from David’s sons, and finally meeting Mike and Melissa from Little Cunning Plan. And then I forgot all about it . . ....

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Created with flickr slideshow. The last time I celebrated the Fourth of July was probably 20 years ago, but I’m only guessing. It was then that Sally the Dog came into my life (David followed suit a few years later). Like most dogs she was deathly afraid of fireworks. But unlike most dogs, she took her fear out on my side of the bed – by peeing on...

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I spend a lot of time looking at narrowboats for sale online. Too much time considering we have no idea when we’ll be ready to buy one ourselves. But I want to get a feel for what’s on the market and how that compares to what I’m looking for in our next boat. I’m sure David has ideas of his own, but he’s entirely too practical to be...

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Sailors have a unique language all their own: On a boat, the front isn’t called the front. It’s the “bow”. The back of the boat’s the “stern”. The “port” side is on the left and the “starboard” side is on the right, but only if you’re facing the bow – if you’re facing the stern, it’s the opposite. Below decks, the “head” is the toilet because it used...

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Okay. It’s time to bite the bullet and write about what happened and why we’re (still) on the hardstand. It’s not an easy thing to do. The last place in the world we want to be is sitting in a boatyard – we just spent four weeks on the hard in October, after all. But it is what it is, so we might as well tell you all...

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When I started this blog, I was young and foolish. Okay. Maybe not so young, but definitely foolish. And I made a lot of mistakes. I’m not alone in this. My blogging-buddy from The Cynical Sailor and His Salty Sidekick has written a post on the subject that reflects similar experiences. And now that I’m starting our second official blog, which is called “From the Towpath”, I wanted...

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Cambria at anchor in Carr Inlet, South Sound. I envy bloggers who are able to sit down and write about something, anything, off the top of their heads. That’s not me. Not normally, anyway. I spend my time fussing over the details: Is the grammar correct? Is that what I really meant to say? What purpose does it serve? The truth is, I’m more interested in editing than...

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