Monthly Archives: December 2012

Days of Sloth

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It’s the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, a time when people reflect on their lives and what they’ve accomplished over the year, setting goals for the future. The dark days of winter are, I’m sure, created in order for us to have time to be introspective, thoughtful, mindful of how we live our lives. And I intend to do just that. After I’m finished resting and relaxing.

Hermione knows what I’m talking about. What a face!

Yes, indeed, I have hit the days of Sloth full force with my resting ways. Today I have accomplished the following: a shower, throwing wrapping paper from Christmas into the recycle bin. That is all, really. And I am completely satisfied with my level of usefulness in the world. My needs this week, in terms of being at all useful to others, are small.  And in this slow-moving, deliberate living I have embraced of late, I have, indeed, had some time to think, even if I haven’t given it much notice.

The ultra cool Space Needle in Seattle. I stuck this in here because it’s a groovy photo I took this season. Some day I will buy myself a really awesome camera and learn how to use it.

I’ve been thinking about how this time last year I was on a rampage getting rid of stuff. It’s as though I somehow thought that our cutting of the dock lines was just around the corner of our lives and that I had to hurry up and simplify. Oh, brother.  In so doing, I have complicated things terribly. Whatever you do, don’t believe everything you read about how ‘freeing’ it is to get rid of all your stuff because sometimes that is just a damn lie. And this lie comes home to roost on Christmas day when you have 9 people over for dinner and own only 3 dining room chairs because you gave the other chairs away since they were cluttering up the place. And then you have the neighbors over for dinner and apologize about the lack of chairs, commenting that you don’t know what happened to them and they respond with, “You gave them to our son last year because you didn’t need them anymore. Do you need them back? You don’t have anyplace for people to sit when you entertain.” Right. Like I’m going to take back chairs I gave to someone just starting out in life who can barely make a living much less buy new chairs. How embarrassing.

Oh sure, throwing everything out would be freeing if I didn’t ever need things again, or if I was moving onto a boat, say, tomorrow. But since neither of those things is true, I better slow down or we won’t have anyplace to sit in our own home.

What we have here is a collection of very tiny ornaments. I will NOT be getting rid of my collection of tiny Christmas ornaments. They will go with us on whatever boat we have. They take up almost no room. Without Christmas, there would be no Days of Sloth. And I must have them.

Oh, we’ve de-cluttered the place nicely this year. We’ve made so many trips to Goodwill that they know us by name. But the dirty truth is this: getting rid too much stuff well in advance of making a move to a small place, or a boat, is useless. Why? Because nature abhors a vacuum, that’s why. We live in a 3000 square foot house, more or less. Already with both kids gone most of the time, we feel as though we are knocking around in a huge empty space. Getting rid of things that take up that empty space just creates more empty space, and, naturally, it somehow gets filled with more stuff.  It just feels weird to have big blank areas where furniture needs to be. I took the advice of all the self-help gurus and got rid of all the stuff I didn’t use or have on display. That leaves exactly 3000 square feet of stuff that I DO use and IS on display. The house is too big for just us, but we’re in a transitional phase just now and we’re not getting rid of it anytime soon.

And speaking of that, I’ve been pretty attached to my house lately. Maybe it’s just that it’s winter, and cold and wet but I’ve come to realize that my dreams of being on a boat really do generally include warm weather and sunshine. Not that I don’t want to sail in colder climates. I do, but I don’t intend to be miserable all the time while doing it. So this time of year when I miss the boat and think ‘let’s go sailing’, I look outside, realize that what’s in my head doesn’t match the reality outside,  and then become thankful that I’m warm and dry. Call me middle-aged. Call me a sailing wimp. Whatever. I prefer to think of it as ‘blooming where I’m planted’.

Here’s a photo from the butterfly house at the Pacific Science Center, for those who need a break from the narration. I like how this butterfly totally brings together the colors of the plants. This is how gardeners think in the winter time.

Mike has been more productive today, but then, he has a more finely developed sense of guilt than I have. After all, he did grow up in the south. He and Andrew replaced the brake shoes on two cars today, so he feels like he deserves to be laying on the couch reading one of his many new books he received from Santa this Christmas…books on sailing. Mike received 4 riveting books that are sailing oriented, and we’ll post about them later. For now, suffice to say that while Mike received books on sailing adventures, and Andrew received new sailing boots and a new anchor roller for Danger Kitten, I received kitchen utensils and a gift certificate to the spa. I’m beginning to sense a trend. Now, to be fair, I have been ‘into’ cooking lately, as is evidenced by the luscious Beef Bourguignon I served for Christmas dinner. Still, I believe my point is well taken. I will be reading his books so I dearly hope he is in a sharing kind of mood.

He must be really enjoying this book because I’ve heard a lot of snorting and guffawing, and comments like ‘this guy either has balls or he’s an idiot’. And also things like, “I know what’s going to happen next because we’ve done this. Oh, Lord, at least we know he lived to tell of it.” I can’t wait to read this book.

And so during these days of sloth when I’ve given myself the gift of not giving a damn what I get done, Mike lies on one couch, I type on another couch… you can see where I’m going with this: we simply must buy a boat with two generously built settees. Otherwise, there is no other way this whole plan will actually work.

 

 

We’re Still Here! Happy Solstice to All!

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Apparently the world is still here, at least so far. The Winter Solstice, the day I look forward to starting on June 21, has arrived and, at least as of this writing, Earth is holding its own. No fanfare, no nothing. Oh, except all the ‘End of the World’ parties. I prefer to think of this time as ‘The End of the World as We Know It’, and based on the horrible news of this week, we can only hope that this is true. If we’re in the beginning of a new cycle, indeed, then let it be one filled with joy and hope and love for all creatures.

In the smallness of our own lives, I celebrate the return of the sun, as well as the birth of the Son, by reflecting on all that is good here at home. This includes the fact that we will be with both of our children on this winter day. Our plan is to spend this metaphorical end to the world, and beginning of the new world, by going to see the King Tut exhibit at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle. I plan to be in awe and inspired and to meditate on how we are all connected to this rich history in one way or another.

Here are some images from this special winter solstice day in 2012. May we all find our own peace on Earth.

I am not allergic to fake trees. I revel in the Dr. Seuss quality of this tree.

Love this Coral Bark maple.

Winter hydrangea

Anna’s Hummingbird. We have many of them and they fight over the feeders. They are hilarious!

Grevillea victoriae, a shrub from New Zealand that blooms almost the entire year here. I originally grew it for the hummingbirds, but now I love it for itself.

The entertaining and personable chickens. They now come running to me when I go out, clucking loudly.

A final note, in case you were wondering, this is where Santa’s elves live during the year. I took this with my phone, in pouring rain, in a moving car. Hence the hideous quality. Still, now you know.

Mission Aborted!

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Because over a week has passed since I posted, I assume it must be winter. By this I mean that basically time passes without my recognizing it, one day blurring into another as the sun barely makes it above the horizon. Yesterday we saw this weird glow behind our neighbor’s house. The trees were glowing and the fence was smoking. We thought something was on fire. It turned out to be the sun, which apparently actually DOES exist, and the wooden fence was steaming because of it.  We were going to try to photograph it, but it was gone before we could find the camera. Such is existence in the Pacific Northwest. It’s a Buddhist state of mind. There is only the now.

On the sailing front we actually got to ride on a boat today. Here’s the back story:

In my last post I waxed politically incorrect about being a girl and being left out of the boy’s sailing trip from Bellingham Bay down to Tacoma. I had done the wife/mother thing of buying plenty of hand and foot warmers, making sure everyone had warm clothing, sleeping bags and pillows, and good, nourishing food for the journey. I had done my worrying. I had lists. I spent money. The car was loaded with supplies collected from various stores and from Moonrise.

Then, making the best of this situation, as is my way when I’m in a good mood, I made my plans for the three days I would have alone at home. I would wrap presents, I would attend a concert with a friend, I would cook Christmas cookies and prepare all the cookie plates I give to people each year. I would have the bed all to myself and sleep sprawled in the middle. I would read with the light on well into the night.  The plans involved never taking my pajamas off for the entire weekend, failing to shower, and possibly playing some video games on the Wii. Who says I don’t know how to relax?

But I was much, much too prepared. I should know better. In my life this kind of organization is never rewarded.  The trip is cancelled.  We drove up to get Andrew in Bellingham today having decided that we would put Danger Kitten in the marina up there for the bad part of winter. Turns out that ever since I got Andrew those spiffy Gill sailing bibs, he’s been spending much time on the Danger Kitten. Who knew? We really want him to use the boat, even in the winter and if he is sailing, it doesn’t make much sense to keep it in Tacoma. And the cost for storing such a small boat is not that much, so it’s worth having it in the marina during the stormy season. I predict Andrew will sleep better when he isn’t worrying about his boat, and we will, too. The bonus is that we get our son at home for an extra three days! I can bake cookies and hang out in my pajamas with him at home.

Andrew borrowed this dinghy to row out and retrieve his own dinghy and bring it ashore, leaving a float to mark the position of his anchor. He and Mike will retrieve the anchor in early January.

Andrew’s was the only boat at the guest dock. Even with the cheap winter rates. Note the sunny sky. It’s not Tacoma.

Andrew had moved his boat to the marina yesterday and put it at the guest dock. We got to ride on the boat all the way to the new slip. Hey, it’s the most we’ve been actually ON the water in over a month. I’ll take what I can get.

There’s a great marine store near this marina and we needed to get a 20 amp adapter for his electrical connection so we went inside. They had one, sure they did, for 70$. Wow! Then we looked at anchor rollers because that’s something he really needs on Danger Kitten. They had a perfect one for about 75$. Suffering a little sticker shock, we tried the awesome second hand marine store, Pacific Marine,  just down the street. It’s the kind of place that invites hours of poking around. We came out with the exact same anchor roller, new with tag, and a 20 amp adaptor for 70$ total. Gotta love those second hand stores! Also gotta love spending the money on such a small boat. Your dollar really does go farther with a small craft. Too bad I’m not even going to consider crossing an ocean on a 25 foot boat. Not a chance.

This is what happens when the wind kicks up to 40 knots and the jib lines are not stowed below. A line gets caught underneath the hatch and pulls the hinge out. This little project will be attended to in January. Watch for it. I heard Mike talking about West Systems…

And so Mike and Andrew will have the father/son time when Andrew goes back up to school. They will do a small repair to the foreword hatch. It was damaged by high winds and a line getting caught under the hatch while the boat was at anchor, and he needs to rework the electrical. The batteries are completely dead because the only way he has to charge them up is to put the boat in the marina. He’s thinking of designing a wind generator to keep them charged.

Mike and Andrew checking the batteries. They were DOA because the charge was allowed to get too low for too long. Lesson learned.

So they’ll go up on a Friday and spend a day or so doing manly boat repairs together and sleeping on the boat. At least they will be in a warm, dry boat with heat, and I’ve already stocked it with food. You can’t beat that.

They were selling this home made wind generator at the second hand store in Bellingham for about 130$.

Oh, and in case you don’t remember it, the weather forecast quoted in my last post was for a significant cold front to move into this area starting today. It was true. The temperature is now a frigid 33 degrees. And, sailors, it’s not much fun at all being in a little boat with no heat in that kind of cold. Not one bit. So it was a wise choice to forego the adventure for right now.