Hi... It is I.

Sorry I have not updated in a while. Lack of updates are due in part to lack of service when I have time. Other reasons are hurting to bad to want to. I guess everyone is used to this one by now. The other reason is just being busy. Visiting with new friends and emailing and texting pen pals and friends. Somehow... by the time I get all caught up it is usually very late and the blog is put off again.

So everyone knows I had a broken prop.

There it is. I finally got Mary Lee towed to a yard about a mile away and had her hauled out. I thought about just having a diver do it but in the end I decided I better have it hauled so I could see what everything looked like. I hauled at Anchors away. Once Mary Lee was all blocked up they informed me I could not stay on board. Now what???? I had made a friend.. Mary Beth, who told me I could stay at her home until my prop showed up. She is the manager??? of the Old Baldy Lighthouse on Bald Head Island.

I tried to make this download upright but blogger is just not letting me. Since I was so graciously offered a place to stay while awaiting parts, and I needed something to do. I did some volunteer work out at old Baldy.

I repaired a water line, put price tags on things for gift shop, coat hooks in bathrooms. Repaired a handrail, turned up dirt in one of the flower beds to get it ready to plant. I still have other projects I have offered to help with but first things first.

I enjoy cooking all the time. This is pan dulce. Also known as Mexican sweet bread. I have eaten it much but only store bought. It turns out I had a very successful first batch. It is so incredibly better tasting made from scratch that I will never buy it again.

My dinner rolls are a little on the large side.

I also experimented with a different topping for my cinnamon rolls. Very gooey and rich. You can hold these in your hand and eat without making a big mess either. I have a bit of a change in mind for these. It is going to be a very good one.

Meanwhile... Back at the ranch. I thought Steve and Linda Franko would get a kick out of a different kind of Yesterdays dream.

Everybody thinks it is steel until you get a closer look. Fiberglass. Looks like that dream happened yesterday :-)

Prop is on. Key slipped forward and prop would not seat properly. Do not laugh. This Makeshift prop puller worked.

So next time you think things are bad at your marina. I had to run about 70 feet of extension cord and use an adapter to get power. That is my orange cord on the right. I really did not want anything to do with this potentially dangerous set-up but when you need to plug in.
The other yard. Hampstead boat yard was a much better place. I did not know there were two of them using the same slip for haul-outs. I know now.

I can make a pretty good oyster soup.

One of my favorites. Fried potatoes, onions and eggs. Not even close to fish and chips with a side of gravy... but we'll take it.

I finished up a 24 day water fast just a few days after pulling Mary Lee out. I had gained quite a bit of weight in Baltimore. I was 248 pounds before Christmas and I know I gained after that. The 248 was at the doctors office. I dieted a couple weeks and then fasted. I weighed 202 pounds when finished. I feel sooooo very much better.

Back in the water she goes. I am so excited I want to jump up and down. Maybe I did... I am not telling :-)

A friend I met at Anchors away saw me waiting at figure eight bridge in Wrightsville, Nc. and took this with his phone as I went through. Thanks Tom.

It was cold but sunny. Wind kept getting worse. Finally I made it into Snows Cut near Carolina Beach, NC. I got here about 4:00 pm. No wind. I knew I did not have far to go but It was so nice here. I anchored for the night. I spent the afternoon texting, emailing, phoning and just enjoying the sun. It turned out to be a real nice anchorage.

I had it all to myself the following morning. Not even the slightest breeze. It looked like a sheet of glass. I could not have asked for much more. Maybe a sail up and no engine running. Of course a companion who enjoyed it as much as I would be nice too. I am busy but who knows. Maybe someday. Point is. Until they made me share it with other boats... It was pretty spectacular.

I am going to be using Mary Beth's garage in Southport to set up wood shop 101. I will build a few nesting dinghies to sell and also one to keep. Do upgrades on Mary Lee and hopefully have her where I want by the end of the summer. Mary Beth has treated me like family. Something I am finding a lot here in the south.

The people in the boating world are also a breath of fresh air. I am going to miss all of it when I head south. I am amazed at the people I have met and the friends I have made since starting this adventure. To think I could have paid cash for a house in Idaho and staggered around a garage for the rest of my life. I chose to buy Mary Lee and it has certainly been an adventure up until now. I made the right choice. Not the easy choice, but the right one.
     So many wonderful people have all become a part of this in some way or another that the comment I made to a friend about being hurt so bad for so long that my soul just felt sick no longer applies.  I know this may sound odd. But go through what I have and then tell me about it. I spent years thinking all fun in life was over and wondering if there was anything left for me. It turns out I had to take a desperate chance and force a change. Good change. I would not trade what I am doing now for anything anyone else is doing.

So Mary Lee is tied up to a new dock. The weather is getting warmer. I have a very busy summer planned. Muuuch to get done. Sailing weather is upon me and Life is great!!!!!

I promise to update more often. I will have a lot to share as the summer passes. This next winter I will be in warm weather :-) :-)