Impromptu, Surprising, Awesome

Todd and I had a long weekend last weekend. Here it is Tuesday and I am still recovering from not being at work on Friday. I reluctantly went to work yesterday, and I am still not quite ready to get back into the groove of going to work.

On Friday we headed to the boat to do a bit of work. This winter Sabine’s getting a face lift:

1. The woodwork is getting scraped and sanded down to the bare wood, and will get varnished.
2. The top of the cabin is getting painted. Our boat will no longer be classified as a 90 mile boat (looks good from 90 miles away) and instead will look hot.
3. We’re getting new hardware put on that will make using the sails easier, and just about eliminate the possibility of losing a finger when coiling ropes around the winches.
   The radar system, formerly only decorative, will be functional. There will be a wire that will run from the radar dome to the display that will actually make the radar system serve its purpose.
4. Years ago we bought an anchor windlass, and for one reason or another we haven’t installed it. This handy device will pull the anchor up for us. Our current windlass, otherwise known as my husband, is starting to get worn out.

Once these repairs are made, living on the boat will be a lot more comfortable. It will no longer rain inside our boat, and onto our bed. We will be able to see other boats in the fog. We will be able to anchor easier, which will make travelling cheaper as well—as anchoring for a night is free. What’s even better is that the professionals are doing 99% of this work. There will be no all-nighters at the marina with this project. There will be no asphyxiation on propane heat this winter. There will be no running back to the marina at a million o’clock every night to swap out the propane canisters. Life is good.

On Saturday my brother Kaz and his family came to see the boat. On the back of our boat we have dinghy davits, that are largely decorative as well. The purpose of the davits is to lift the dinghy out of the water while we’re underway. This will cut down on the drag and make the boat sail just a bit faster, in addition to keeping the bottom of the dinghy from soaking in the water and getting slimy. So Kaz, the super awesome machinist, will re-fabricate the davits so that they will be functional.

After we had lunch we said to Kaz and my sister-in-law Melissa, “OK, we’re keeping the kids. You can go home now. We’ll see you tomorrow.” They laid rubber in the parking lot, reveling in the possibilities of a night of freedom. The kids rubbed their hands together, considering the possibilities of a night away from their parents. We played indoor mini-golf. We baked a quantity of cookies that can only be quantified as obnoxious. We played shoot-em-up video games, we ate pizza. We made sundaes with way too much whipped cream, we watched a movie, we soaked in the hot tub while Maggie and Hali dared each other to get out and roll in the snow. (They both did.)

Sunday morning we drove to Connecticut to return the three scoundrels, er, kids. We exposed them to the unseemly life of no parental rules, then sent them back to their parents as any aunt and uncle worth their salt would do. Then we headed to my dad’s house to celebrate his 71st birthday.

Sunday night I found myself passed out on the couch at 8:00, barely to keep my eyes open. Monday morning I pressed the snooze button at least a dozen times.