I got a couple of messages from the Universe this week that it was time to update the blog again. Actually, the messages were from readers either asking for links to old content or telling us they’ve been enjoying Little Cunning Plan for a couple of years. Naturally I began to feel the nudges of a particularly motivating form of guilt that always lies just underneath the surface when I’ve been too distracted by life to write. It’s sort of like forgetting to feed my dog.  I know when I’ve been remiss. The blog looks at me with doleful eyes and ears laid flat, then looks away, filled with loathing.

Or maybe just confusion.

But, after all, even if I am not spending every moment of every day working my rear end off right now, I feel deeply all the changes that are beginning to crystallize in our lives. So there is this kind of energetic ‘busy-ness’ that is constant all day every day. There is a tension in the very air, a pregnant waiting.  All big plans have a sort of tipping point where all the preparations begin to suddenly come together like precipitate in a test tube. First that liquid is clear, then one more drop and all hell is breaking loose in that little vial of glass. That’s pretty much how it feels. We’re waiting for that final drop, and we don’t know when, or even IF it will come.

Emotionally, I’m on the verge of excitement but still leaning towards fear. Maybe I just don’t know the difference between the two. Or maybe I’m afraid to feel excited because there are still many, many things that need to come together for this whole transition to be complete. A picture is emerging in this tapestry we are weaving, but we are still depending on our creative imaginations to tell us what the final product could look like. We try to just enjoy the process while having a loose idea of the direction we are going.

Maybe it will look like more of this. That would be great, but we’d really like warmer water and weather for awhile.

In practical terms, that means we’ve done most of the downsizing we can do until we actually move onto the boat. We’ve been meeting with our property manager and there is a concrete plan for putting our house on the short term rental market. This is Plan A. We are positioned nicely in terms of location. All indications are that there is a need for this type of housing in this area because of the huge presence of military bases.  We will throw our hat into this ring in January by advertising on the military websites, targeting specifically that population as well as the larger companies that have executives who come in for periods of time and prefer a home to the local hotels. If people reserve the house, that will be the drop in the solution that begins another flurry of activity. We’ll have to move all of our personal stuff out of the house.

We love our new logo.

So we were a little relieved when this week our name came up on the list for a storage unit at the marina. We signed for it immediately, feeling very fortunate that the timing, if a little early, was not too late. We got a unit about the size of a one car garage, located close to the gate we use at the marina. This is good fortune and we consider it a wink from the Universe that things are working out.

So when are we moving aboard? That is likely to be a process that happens very quickly, and we do not know exactly when it will be. The imaginary renters will determine that when they are made flesh in the real world. It could happen as soon as the end of February. It is likely we will not be full time liveaboards right away. We may be moving back and forth from the house to the boat for awhile, which would be very strange.

We will need to figure this out.

And what about our little Skippy dog? Simply put, we are starting now to get him used to the marina. He’s a smart dog, and we think if we start taking him down with us he can get used to being on the boat. I have been spending a lot of time on the boat seeing clients, which has worked out very well. I am considering taking him with me so he can get used to it. We won’t leave the country with him, but while we are here, he stays with us. He is very treat-motivated (some say extremely so). We hope by the time we are living there even part time, he will be adjusting.

So we are enjoying another Christmas season in our home with our kids. Claire and Dan arrived from Guatemala and will be with us until Valentine’s Day, when they head back to Scotland for a visit to Dan’s home. Claire has made herself a nice career writing for Investopedia and some other financial websites. Dan is a digital artist who designed our logo for Galapagos. We love our logo and we love that they are part of the new ‘digital nomad’ generation.  Look Claire’s articles up on Investopedia and Dividend.com. Dan has a new site with t-shirts he designed to appeal to the young and politically hip crowd. Need a logo for your boat or business? Contact Dan Moffat: moffatdesigns(at)gmail.com.

That day we had a pony party in our big back yard to welcome Claire home from some travels.

Is this Christmas season one last hurrah in our house? Where will we be next Christmas? Will Mike and Melissa and their little dog have to spend next winter aboard Galapagos in the marina? (Ack!) Who knows? We certainly don’t.

And those hatch lenses we fixed with aluminum tape? Still not leaking. Yay!