Casstaway

I am being cautiously converted from my lifetime membership in the Crock Pot Posse to the Cult of Instant Pot. The induction began when I recently lamented to fellow sailors that although I love cooking in my crock pot, I fear I need a faster, more energy-efficient alternative for life outside the marina (when shore power will not be an option). Search no more they cried. Viola! The Instant Pot....

One of our favorite parts of marina life is gathering on the dock with our boat neighbors to share some grog and grub. An old-fashioned pot luck pitch-in, exchanging the church basement for God’s gifts of surf and stars. We’ve been spearheading these gatherings for a few months now, “hosting” the gang approximately every two or three weeks. Not sure that we got elected social chairmen,...

We are back aboard Casstaway! We feel blessed that Irma chose to be kind to us, and that all our preparation paid off - Casstaway has no damage inside or out. Almost all of the boats in our marina fared well and we are very grateful. Quite an experience. Thank you to family and friends for all of your prayers and support.

The weather experts are calling her “catastrophic”, “a monster storm”, “one of the strongest on record”. Hurricane Irma. And, Casstaway is right in her path - or close enough! Even if, as predicted this morning, the eye of the storm misses us, unless Irma takes a serious reroute eastward into the Atlantic we are sure to get extremely high winds, punishing rain, and turbulent waters....

I’ve been hounding Todd to get a haircut. He has been resisting. Threatening to grow a ponytail. Investigating creative ways to cover a bald spot. Spiking his hair. All just to yank my chain and give himself a good laugh. He knows that I have been trying for months to grow my hair out so it becomes long enough to quickly throw up in a top knot - and praying that with my gray I won’t look...