1 more day...

This first slip is where I will be living.  Gordo, Chris, Cathy and Major helped me move The Flatulence into her new slip today.  The day started out rainy.  The plan was to move her at noon. It stopped raining about the time we arrived at the boat.  Chris and Cathy moved the rest of their stuff off the boat, Gordo started the engine, we untied the lines and pushed off.  With the dinghy trailing behind, we slowly made our way across Clear Lake and into Waterford Harbor Yacht Club.  It was a nice ride, not many on the lake, except the POLICE!  They looked the other way and did not see the expired sticker on the bow.  Oh well, this is normal for me... it goes right along with my expired inspection sticker and tags on my Jeep.  I will take care of them all next week.

Pictures?  Oh, you want pictures of The Flatulence.  In due time.  It started to rain shortly after we docked, so I was not able to get pictures today.  The Flatulence needs some special attention.  Do not judge her harshly!   I can see what she will look like with a little carpentry and fiberglass work, sanding, paint, varnish, canvas, and a lot of elbow grease!  I already have a color scheme picked out.  Navy hull, white deck, and burgundy stripe, Captain Navy canvas with Brass trim.  Ahh, she will put the pretty little green boat next to her, to shame.  After she has her new paint, she will deserve a new name. A name has already been decided on, but that will not be revealed until it's time for the renaming.

Back to Pasadena.  Another load has been packed onto the utility trailer and ready to haul it to storage.  It's still raining hard and I don't want to unload it in the dark AND rain, so I will get up early and take it in the morning.  Shortly after I return, Larry will come over and we will finish the trailer for TARDIS, and load her.  She will be stored on her trailer in a fenced yard by my canvas shop.  I will have my tools there at the shop, so I will spend a few weekends working on her, and should have her ready for the water soon.

Only a few more things to pack and then... cleaning, I hate cleaning!

2 Days...

My day started with a visit across the street with my neighbor.  I don't know her name, I call her Punkin.  She is always excited to see me.  Today, I learned that she leaks when she gets really excited!

I learned a better way to install the bow eye on TARDIS from Charlie Jones.  This morning, this was my task.  Getting to the stem from the inside is possible, but cramped.  First, a pilot hole was drilled, then a 7/16 inch holes was drilled for a few inches from the outside.  Then, a hole big enough for the nut was drilled from the inside, deep enough for the nut to fit onto the threads.  Epoxy was then squirted in the hole from both ends.  That bow eye is not coming out.

This afternoon, I had planned to go to the shop and work.  But, I was on a roll with the packing and cleaning, I decided to take the day off.  About 3 o'clock, I remember that I was going to pay my slip rent today and look more closely at Waterford Harbor.  So, I threw on a sundress and headed to Waterford.   My favorite place will be the pool, I can already tell!  I sat with my feet in the water and talked on the phone with my son that moved to California.  It was so peaceful...I needed that.



Now, I'm back home.  When I walked through the front door, into the empty living room... I heard echos.  So empty, can't wait to be out of here.  Only two more nights here, and then I'm out of Pasadena.... forever!  Don't get me wrong, Pasadena is not a bad place to live, but I got tired of the drive to work everyday, and all my friends live in the Clear Lake area.  My time here, the past year has been a time of healing, reflection, learning who I really am, what I want out of life, what I need... it has been good.  But it is time to move on.  I feel I am coming out the other side of a tunnel, and starting a new life.  Out with the old, and in with the new.  I have found many wonderful friends, and I love them all.  More content with who I am, more confident in myself, and happier than I have ever been.  Life is good!

The other day, I got this in my fortune cookie.  I think it was meant for me!

A bold and dashing adventure is in your future within the year.

3 Days...Starting to Stress

Drinking Dr. Pepper from a champagne glass.  Thought I would use it before I throw it away... I couldn't even sell it for 50 cents.

I'm exhausted, my feet are killing me.  Slowly but surely I'm getting the house cleared out.

Dinner had a theme tonight: RED.  Strawberry jello, Red Velvet cupcakes, and a blush wine.  And, oh so nutritious!  Okay, it was yummy anyway.

I think my neighbors have figured out that a lot of the stuff I am throwing away is not trash.  I drag bags out to the curb and they disappear within hours.

My kids' stuff is being stored in a storage unit.  Hopefully, their stuff will find it's way to them within a few months.  The rent is cheap, and the second month is free.  I can handle it for a few months.  I made another trip there today.

Living alone SUCKS!  Last night I was in my bedroom watching something on my computer.  I heard a loud noise in another part of the house, and my heart started to race.  I knew all the doors were locked, and it couldn't be anyone trying to get in.  This morning I saw that a plastic pitcher had fallen out of a trash sack and hit the floor.  Oh yeah, and I just heard a rat running around in the attic.  If I was staying here, I would do something about them.  Just started seeing them lately in the garage and hearing them in the attic.  I will be glad to be out of here.

The next few days are going to fly by.  Still have to finish the trailer for TARDIS, clear out the house, clean it up... oh crap, I forgot about the lawn...

4 Days........... and I haven't panicked yet!

 

For those of you who just tuned in, I am building a Paradox sailboat named TARDIS.  I am also in the process of moving out of my house in Pasadena and moving onto a Grampian 26.

Most of my possessions have been sold, given away, or thrown to the curb.  No, I did NOT sell my tools.  They will go and live at the canvas shop.  The past several days have been devoted to rearranging the tables in the shop, and building a shelf under several of them.  I will store my tools there, and anything I couldn't part with that will not fit on the boat.

Another trip to Harbor Freight.  The lights on the trailer do not work.  The whole assembly needs to be replaced.  Trailer jack and safety chains are also on my shopping list.  Because I didn't know the location of the winch on the trailer, I have not put a bow eye on TARDIS.  Every bow eye I found, the threads were not long enough.  So, here is the plan: weld stainless steel bolts onto the bow eye to the length I need.  Genius!  


Today's lunch was left-over fish tacos from last night.  My friend fed me, and it was really tasty!  But, dinner... I opened the pantry...hum....I found a pouch of salmon.  Opened the pouch, spooned in mayo, pickles and pecans.  It would have made a nice sandwich, but no bread.  I did have lettuce, so lettuce roll-ups it was.   While looking through the pantry, I found jello.  I remembered seeing frozen strawberries in the freezer.  Guess what I will be having tomorrow night!  Meals here at the house are becoming a challenge.  There is a lot of food here and needs to be eaten.  In the freezer I found ground beef, pork chops, chicken and shrimp.  I think I will cook supper for this friend that is always feeding me.  I make a good Cajun meatloaf.  Maybe Italian chicken... and baked Redfish with a creamy shrimp sauce... this is making me hungry.  That salmon I had for dinner didn't last too long.

6 DAYS... and I haven't backed out yet!

It was a long, but productive day.  I am sitting down to leftover pizza and wine in a fancy Tom and Jerry glass.


The other night I couldn't get to sleep.  So much to do and so little time to get it done.  I was awake and on the computer at 2 in the morning.  A good friend, awake also, saw that I was having a rough night.  She talked me off the ledge, and by the end of our visit, I was feeling so much better about everything.  Thanks Kristen!  I am surrounded by a bunch of great and caring friends.

Today, I received wise words from another sweet friend, Cathy:

We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot.

My son, daughter, and grandson lived here for a time.  When they moved out, as most children do, they left things behind.  My son went to California and my daughter went to Florida.  I rented a small storage unit to store their boxes.  My plan is to spend Thanksgiving with my daughter in Key West.  I know!  I will suffer through spending the holiday in Key West, but I will endure.  :-)  I will deliver her stuff at that time.

This past weekend was spent with my neighbor, Larry, helping me fit my trailer to TARDIS.  I don't know what I would have done without his help.  He is a godsend.  Later, there will be a detailed post about the trailer modification.  This evening, he came back over and we did the first fitting for TARDIS.  I have my shopping list for tomorrow.  But, doesn't she look good on the trailer?!

And, today was trash day, so I get to start a new pile of black bags at my curb.  Onward and upward!

I got liability insurance for The Flatulence.  The agent was very helpful in trying to get my premium as low as possible.  He tried many things, and then he looked at me and asked if I was engaged.  I looked at him, tilted my head, and replied, "maybe?"  After checking that box on my application, the premium went down $150.  So, guess what?  I'M ENGAGED!  Well, unofficially.  I will have a very long engagement to a mystery man!

7 Days and Feeling Off Balance...

Selling my possessions, being alone, this has become quite difficult for me.  Selling my security.  Sleep has been impossible.  I know once I reach the other side of this transition, I will be fine.  However, until then...

My friends have been very supportive and I really value their friendship, but they can't hold my hand every moment.  Fear of the unknown has kept me from doing things in my past, it can paralyze me.  Fear of failure, fear of disapproval, fear of embarassment...these are things I need to overcome.

My living room looks like an under-stocked used furniture store.  Not a very homey feeling house.

It's hard to know exactly what I will need in this new living situation.  My living space will be spread out over more ground, and that will take a little getting used to.  There is a learning curve.

I realized that I wear the same clothes over and over, so I went through my closet again and threw away more pieces.  I will not miss them.

I have many plastic tubs, that is what I am packing my stuff in.  Some of this stuff will go with me on the boat, while some will be stored under our tables at my shop.

This new life I'm embarking on, is scary.  You hear about people moving to a new area and reinventing themselves.  I'm not reinventing myself, it's more like finding out who I really am.  I have a tendency to rearrange my world to fit into someone else's world.  Or be who they want me to be.  Recently, I was told by a friend, to not change who I am.  That I am adventurous.  I have never thought of myself as an adventurer.  But, I do have dreams of going fun places and doing fun things.  

Be bold and courageous.  When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did.

I must close for now and try and sleep.  Where is that sandman when you need him!

10 Days, and Counting ...

Today, as I approached the driveway of my home in Pasadena, I saw a couple of bags of trash at the curb.  This was not anything I had placed out there this morning, which meant that my roommate had moved out.  The house was already looking pretty sad, but now, it doesn't even resemble a "home".   I am sleeping on a foam love seat and all the "furniture like" items are gathered in the living room.  An ESTATE SALE was held last Saturday and sold a lot of things, but still have many items.  A few things have been sold on Craigslist, and several still listed.  I didn't realize I owned so much stuff.

As I was throwing away 17 years of notes and photos of my past sewing business, I had this feeling suddenly come over my, "What the hell are you doing Lezlie?"  But, that feeling left as quickly as it came, and I was back to the purging of unneeded and unwanted items from my past.  There are very few things I am keeping.  If it has a tainted memory attached to it, it goes in the trash.  I am hitting the restart button of my life.

I get one of two reactions when I tell someone that I am moving onto a boat.  The most popular is one of excitement.  A lady just the other day, smiled and said she was excited for me.  There have been a few that thought I was crazy, but I think I over-heard my mother say - I have always been a little different.  I know she meant it in a good way... I think.

TARDIS?  Oh yeah, I haven't had any time to work on her.  This weekend, my neighbor Larry, said he would help me work on the trailer and get her pulled up on it.

It's very quiet here, alone... even both dogs are gone.  The black one on the left, went to live with my Dad.  He loves her!  The one on the right, is the neighbor dog, lovingly referred to as "Bug Eyes".  She  always came running when she saw me drive up.  She has found a new home also.

So here I sit, no roommate (wasn't here much anyway), no kids and no dogs... man, this house is quiet.  I better go sweep and mop those two empty bedrooms, and close them up.   10 days and counting...

WATERFORD HARBOR

The deed is done... I filled out the application and paid the deposit on a slip. This will be the location of my next residence. I was very nervous when I went in the office of the marina. This was something new, something I've never done before, a new adventure.

Yesterday, I visited the marina with a couple of my friends. We walked the dock and looked at boats, then sat for awhile. As we sat there looking out over the marina, I could hear those familiar marina sounds; the gentle whistling of the wind through the masts and rigging, the clanging of a halyard against it's mast, the faint rubbing of the fender between the boat and the finger pier.... calming sounds.

With everything in life, there are compromises. I have already measured the distance between my slip and the shower, restroom, laundry - ~200 steps. This is important information. Okay, yes, it will be a stroll to the facilities, but I'm willing to endure these inconveniences. The advantages out weigh the inconveniences.

My drive to work will be cut from 25 miles, to 2. That means a five minute drive, instead of 35... and a lot less gas to buy. My living expenses will be cut by two-thirds. Having money at the end of the month will help too.

I go through my day now, wondering how different my everyday life will be. It will be more simple, more time for me, closer to all my friends, maybe a little more laid-back. I'm looking forward to my new adventure. Just three more weeks...

This and That

Today I installed half of the insulation and the window in the sliding hatch. I need more of the blue mat that I am using for the insulation. The window went in very easy, and I think it looks nice.

The cabin rails are bolted on now. Since there is nothing to tie fenders to at midship, I installed a padeye at both ends of the cabin rail.

The pin stripe is painted. I will add a fancy .... something ... at both ends. Just haven't figured out what yet.

My friend, Charlie Jones, gave me some lead for my ballast. I will make more lead pigs this week. AND, I am making my sail this week.... look for that post by the end of the week! Exciting times!