Author Archives: Melissa

Spam Spam Spam Spam, Lovely Spam, Wonderful Spam!*

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While we’re awaiting the outcome of the boat haul out, I thought I’d comment on the experience of being a blogger. This is the most entertainment I’ve had in years, and the most appreciated I’ve ever felt! Is it the readers who engender these feelings in me? Is it my beloved spouse and the togetherness this blog has created between us? Alas, no, it is not. As much as I appreciate both the readers and my spouse, and I really DO, nobody strokes my massive ego like those destructive darklings of Google rankings, those roving robots of racy rhetoric. I speak, of course, of comment spammers.

Is this what a comment spammer looks like? Probably.

Hoping to slip through our rock-solid defensive wall of spam filters, these ‘beings’ come up with the most hysterical and creative use of the English language. At least, I think it’s English.  And they love us! They really do! According to the comment spammers, we are ‘insightful’,’admired’, and ‘kind-hearted’. Our posts are ‘splendid’ and ‘illuminating’. Plus, we have ‘expert fashion’. (I’m sure they must be talking about me, but I have never in my life had anything close to ‘expert fashion’. And Mike’s fashion is certainly not even close to ‘expert’. Just ask my daughter.)

In case you don’t have a blog of your own so that you, too, can enjoy the self-esteem benefits of comment spam, here are some of my favorites from the last couple of days. That’s right! We will share them with you so that you, too, can feel the glow of success! We get a ton of these each and every day. We can afford to share!

Palmer Pomilla posted “I wish to get across my admiration for your kind-heartedness for men and women that actually need help on this subject. Your very own commitment to passing the message all around was astonishingly invaluable and has continuously enabled those much like me to arrive at their aims. This insightful key points denotes this much a person like me and substantially more to my mates. Many thanks; from each one of us.”      It was nothing, Palmer! Literally! Glad to be of service.

Alejandro Desroberts noted “I precisely wished to appreciate you once again. I do not know the things I might have taken care of without these recommendations shared by you directly on such a question. It seemed to be a depressing condition in my circumstances, however , looking at a new expert fashion you solved the issue made me to leap over contentment. Now i’m grateful for the guidance and even hope you recognize what an amazing job your are undertaking teaching men and women via your websites. I am certain you haven’t met any of us.”     I am almost completely certain you are correct, Alejandro. And I probably never will. Be careful with all the contentment-leaping.

According to Brock Heidelburg, “Just saying thanks will not just be sufficient, for the tremendous lucidity in your writing. I will right away grab your rss feed to stay abreast of any updates.”     Brock, if saying thanks is not sufficient, a check with lots of 0’s will do. Please be careful grabbing my ‘rss’. It’s very delicate and I don’t generally allow strangers to touch it. 

American Airways (Wow!) notes, “I am extremely impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself? Anyway keep up the nice quality writing, it is rare to see a nice blog like this one these days..”   Just think! We’ve only been live a few months and already a big corporation has noticed our blog! I wonder if they will be sending us any free tickets. I know they really like us because we got three spam comments from them in one day! 

True Religion Jeans loves us, too: ” It’s strange for me to locate something online that’s as enjoyable and stimulating as exactly what you’ve got the following. Your web page is sweet, the graphics are usually outstanding, along with what’s more, you employ source that are relevant to that which you are saying. You happen to be certainly one inch a million, great job!”   True Religion, I hardly know what to say! I’m blushing!

And, one more, from Louis Vuitton Bags (Really? They stoop to this?), ” Definitely believe that which you said. Your favorite justification seemed to be on the internet the simplest thing to be aware of. I say to you, I certainly get irked while people think about worries that they just do not know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top and defined out the whole thing without having side-effects , people could take a signal. Will probably be back to get more. Thanks.”   Sorry, Louis, I don’t give much of a thought to either you or your bags, or whether you’ll be back for more. Because someone already told me I have ‘expert fashion’ and that’s about all I can tolerate. 

*Monty Python, of course!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Just In! New Updates as the Story Unfolds…

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This is just unnatural!

Moonrise is on the hard! Sure, we’re selling this boat, but since we haven’t found that one special buyer yet, we’re going to be sailing her until we do. I still want that trip down the west coast this summer. Summer is coming! Adventure awaits! Therefore, she needs her bottom cleaned and painted, and needs a small repair to the fiberglass where I had a close encounter with an uncharted rock up in Barkely Sound. It was a small thing, but we wanted to take care of it.

Here she is, being lifted out of the water. Watch Mike. He is positioning himself for the best possible view of her hull as she is lifted. He cannot wait!

So stay tuned! This story is unfolding even now and we’ll post full lurid details, complete with photos of her bare hull!  Meanwhile, would you let this man take you home?

Please don't hate him because he's beautiful.

Take me home. Now.

Archetypes of the Pacific Northwest, with Magic!

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We pulled the dingy onto the muddy shore at Penrose State Park, looking forward to a hike to the other side of the little peninsula. We hoped we’d see other boats from the Puget Sound Cruising Club anchored there as we were supposed to be there for a raft-up. I’d spent the better part of the previous evening sick as a dog and, feeling more myself, it felt good to get off the boat and stretch my legs. The park was filled with Memorial Day revelers  and several dinghies were tied up on rocks on the other side of the cove. Together we pulled the dingy up onto the mud and looked for a place to tie up.

Me: ” Honey, there isn’t any place to tie off Puddler in this part of the cove. Maybe we should move it closer to those rocks with the other dingies. The tide is coming in.”

Mike: “Naw, let’s just pull it up further onto the beach. We won’t be gone that long.”

Me: ” Are you sure? That seems a little risky to me.”

Mike: “Here’s a rock. I’ll tie it off here. See? Okay, let’s go.”

Always trusting my husband to know what is best, I trudge off with him, ever the ‘dutiful’ wife. Hahahahahaha!

Love is frequently blind.

We spent the next hour hiking the woodsy trail, enjoying the sunshine and remembering why we still live in the Pacific Northwest, in spite of the hateful winters. If only it were like this all the time! We began to think of all the folks we know who live in other parts of the country, never having known the joys of Pacific Northwest Cruising in Good Weather. With newlyweds Tate and Dani of Sundowner Sails Again in mind, we assembled this collection of Northwest archetypes to give them an idea of what they are missing by living down south. Some folks would call these photos ‘ubiquitous’, but I prefer the more academic, intellectually stimulating term ‘archetype’ as it more accurately reflects the esoteric symbolic nature of these images and also allows me to use big words. If you are more on the side of ‘ubiquitous’, you can skip the next part and cut to the video at the end.

Archetype of Haughty Eagle in Craggy Tree; archetype of limitless freedom, our national bird, and my personal totem animal.

 

Archetype of Weathered Driftwood Archway on sand and shell beach; symbolic of hidden mysteries, doorway to homes of native gnomes, elves, and fairies, symbolic of entries into other realms.

Archetype of the Meandering Forest Path; symbolic of the uncertainty of the future, also of worlds between worlds and the interconnected-ness of all things.

Archetype of the Partly Submerged Rock; symbolic of danger lurking beneath the surface and also watching the hell where you are going.

 

Feeling the pressure of time, and the ever increasing wind, we headed back to the other side of the park. As we emerged from the forest we could see the beach where we left Puddler.

Mike: There’s Puddler. Looks like we got back just in time, the tide really came in fast!

Me: It looks like Puddler is…… floating?

Mike: Maybe just a little. We’ll make it in time.

Me: Are you sure? He looks like he’s really floating pretty good. Actually, there appears to be a lot of water between Puddler and the beach.

Mike: He’s headed out to sea!

Me: Hurry! He’s getting further out from the beach. I think you will have to swim for it. (Naturally I assumed it would be Mike doing the swimming, since he built the dingy.)

Mike: Wait, he’s slowing down,  I think he’s moving in our direction!

Me: Call him! Whistle for him! Use your magic to bring him to you! You can do it, I believe in you! Reach your hand out to him and call him by name! (I clap my hands loudly, believing in Mike with all my heart.)

Does Mike have magic powers over his boat? Watch the video and you be the judge, along with our audience at the site, the South Sound Sailing Society. (Maybe we should join their group since we found them easily, plus they had a tasty looking potluck on the beach.)