Sunday Oct 25
This morning, I rode my bicycle to church and sang with the choir. We sang a song after communion where I soloed the alto harmony. I would never have done that back in Rapid City. I think being in the balcony instead of in front of everyone made it easier. Plus, very few people know me here. After mass, we folded up my bike and put it in Rosemary’s trunk, another alto. Then I joined her and 3 other members of the church for lunch at an IHOP. I enjoyed visiting with them. Everyone is always so curious about living on a boat.
While I was gone, Dave took our boat out by himself to check the autopilot. It’s still not correct.
Friday, November 6, 2015
October 24, 2015 storing canned goods Brunswick, GA
This morning, I walked to church bazaar with a couple other boaters, Vicki and Linda. We donated money for the 50/50 drawings and for a few raffle tickets. The drawings were at 1:00 pm and none of us heard from them. I bought a few little items for the boat, coaster and a cloth bag for carrying a hot dish. I had one my mother made that didn't make it to the boat. And I have missed it.
I spent the afternoon sorting our canned goods in our v berth. We have been bagging the cans. And when we first moved the canned goods to a section under our bed, they were tossed in there haphazardly. So today, I sorted, recounted, and rebagged as needed. Once they were placed in there with some sense of order, I was able to get many more cans in the space. I think we will make it through 6 months in the Bahamas. We can always buy food there, but canned goods are much more expensive there.
We enjoyed another Alabama college football game in the club house. They beat the Tennessee Volunteers. ROLL TIDE!!
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| Vicki and Linda by the cauldron that cooked the first Brunswick Stew |
I spent the afternoon sorting our canned goods in our v berth. We have been bagging the cans. And when we first moved the canned goods to a section under our bed, they were tossed in there haphazardly. So today, I sorted, recounted, and rebagged as needed. Once they were placed in there with some sense of order, I was able to get many more cans in the space. I think we will make it through 6 months in the Bahamas. We can always buy food there, but canned goods are much more expensive there.
We enjoyed another Alabama college football game in the club house. They beat the Tennessee Volunteers. ROLL TIDE!!
October 23, 2015 Ray Marine chart plotter Brunswick, GA
Dave has been spending several days working on our Raymarine P70 with evolution system autopilot. The autopilot and the Ray Marine chart plotter distance and speed units weren’t matching. One showed miles and one kilometers. We have introduced several new things with our lightning problems last year. So somewhere there had to be a misconnection. Ray Marine technicians had him disconnect several things and reconnect to the control head for the autopilot. But something in the system kept taking it back to that setting. And just getting to everything on the boat took time.
In the end, the old Raymarine ST60 depth meter that came with the boat thought it was the boss. Dave set the units on that and everything decided to mesh. So he decided to celebrate and have a few beers with the "guys on the dock". He prefers that over going to the happy hour with 30-40 people.
Today I made an onion dip for the pot luck. It was a recipe from my friend, Cheryl, in South Dakota. It was a big hit. I even had to share the recipe with several people. So I included it here.
WARM ONION DIP from Cheryl Ulmer
Ingredients
Servings 12-15
2 medium sweet onions, finely chopped (won't hurt to add in one more onion!)
1 cup mayonnaise (do not use salad dressing, use Hellman's mayo for this)
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons fresh minced garlic (or to taste)
fresh ground black pepper (to taste) (optional)
cayenne pepper (adjust to heat level) (optional)
Directions
Set oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly spray a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
In a bowl combine the mayo, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese and garlic together until well combined and smooth.
Mix in chopped onions until combined, then season with black pepper and cayenne (if using).
Transfer to the baking dish.
Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until the top is lightly browned.
Serve with butter crackers.
In the end, the old Raymarine ST60 depth meter that came with the boat thought it was the boss. Dave set the units on that and everything decided to mesh. So he decided to celebrate and have a few beers with the "guys on the dock". He prefers that over going to the happy hour with 30-40 people.
Today I made an onion dip for the pot luck. It was a recipe from my friend, Cheryl, in South Dakota. It was a big hit. I even had to share the recipe with several people. So I included it here.
WARM ONION DIP from Cheryl Ulmer
Ingredients
Servings 12-15
2 medium sweet onions, finely chopped (won't hurt to add in one more onion!)
1 cup mayonnaise (do not use salad dressing, use Hellman's mayo for this)
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons fresh minced garlic (or to taste)
fresh ground black pepper (to taste) (optional)
cayenne pepper (adjust to heat level) (optional)
Directions
Set oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly spray a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
In a bowl combine the mayo, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese and garlic together until well combined and smooth.
Mix in chopped onions until combined, then season with black pepper and cayenne (if using).
Transfer to the baking dish.
Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until the top is lightly browned.
Serve with butter crackers.
October 22, 2015 Electronics and "pitch in" Brunswick Landing Marina, GA
This week Dave was working on connecting our AIS to our computer so the AIS will show up if we are using the laptop for navigation. The laptop is a backup in case we have trouble with our Raymarine chart plotter. The AIS alerts us and gives us information about other boats in the area. Plus the other boats can see us.
NMEA0183 is the system for communicating between electronic devices. Most electronics come with it to transfer data. But no one has come up with a cord that all companies like to use. We have Coastal Explorer chart software on our laptop, and we want it to receive AIS. So you have to get a special cord to connect AIS and a USB cord for the computer.
When you connect devices, some have “send” wires only or “send and receive” wires. For instance, a GPS only has send info. But with AIS you want to send and receive. So he had to connect two ends of wires for send and two for receive. Then, according to Dave, they all talked to each other like little Minions.
And there is probably a wireless way to do all this by now. But not on our boat.
We were invited to another “pitch in” (Canadian for pot luck) on dock 8 today. Benito was making ceviche for everyone. He is a captain for a private boat in the marina and is from Mexico. People donated lion fish, grouper, snapper and shrimp. Then several people helped with the chopping of the vegetables. I chopped tomatoes. And he spiced them for us. People also brought other dips and finger foods. I made a creme de menthe cake that was famous in our family. It is a white cake with the 4 Tbsp creme de menthe, chocolate frosting, then a layer of 12 oz cool whip with 3 Tbsp creme de menthe mixed in. Great chocolate mint mixture, and pretty with the green color. It was great to cool off your mouth after the spicy ceviche.
NMEA0183 is the system for communicating between electronic devices. Most electronics come with it to transfer data. But no one has come up with a cord that all companies like to use. We have Coastal Explorer chart software on our laptop, and we want it to receive AIS. So you have to get a special cord to connect AIS and a USB cord for the computer.
When you connect devices, some have “send” wires only or “send and receive” wires. For instance, a GPS only has send info. But with AIS you want to send and receive. So he had to connect two ends of wires for send and two for receive. Then, according to Dave, they all talked to each other like little Minions.
And there is probably a wireless way to do all this by now. But not on our boat.
 |
| Dave working in a tight spot |
We were invited to another “pitch in” (Canadian for pot luck) on dock 8 today. Benito was making ceviche for everyone. He is a captain for a private boat in the marina and is from Mexico. People donated lion fish, grouper, snapper and shrimp. Then several people helped with the chopping of the vegetables. I chopped tomatoes. And he spiced them for us. People also brought other dips and finger foods. I made a creme de menthe cake that was famous in our family. It is a white cake with the 4 Tbsp creme de menthe, chocolate frosting, then a layer of 12 oz cool whip with 3 Tbsp creme de menthe mixed in. Great chocolate mint mixture, and pretty with the green color. It was great to cool off your mouth after the spicy ceviche.
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| ceviche preparation-Benito on the left and me on the right |
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ceviche buffet
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October 21, 2015 beautiful trees in Brunswick, GA
At 7:30 this morning, another boater, Christopher from dock 8, offered
to bring his laptop to the club house to show people Chris Parker’s
weather forecast that he does on the internet if you are a subscriber.
It is also broadcast on the Single Side Band Radio for anyone to listen
to. As a subscriber, you receive daily e-mails of weather forecasts.
And you can contact him with your individual sailing plans for a
forecast. Several of us discussed different weather applications and their pros and cons. So it was informative.
Dave’s latest projects: We had a bad ground for a light switch in the aft cabin. So he cleaned the contacts and put some “no-oxide” dope on it. But to get to the area you want to work, you always have to move things around, twist you body into small places, then put everything back.
We bought a new hose for pumping fluids overboard. It’s an emergency bilge pump and can be used as a fire fighter hose. So today Dave added a screen and a check valve to the hose.
This morning, Ricardo spent some time with me teaching me how to add advertisements to my blog. Every time someone clicks on an ad, I will receive money. So click away. I would enjoy hearing your feed back on how it looks on my blog. Is it tacky or distracting or OK? Let me know what you think.
I rode bicycle to the grocery store. It is about a mile to the Winn Dixie. I took the side roads through some interesting neighborhoods. What really impressed me today was the way the roads are made to go around some beautiful large live oak trees. They would narrow to one lane, or divide around the trees.
Dave’s latest projects: We had a bad ground for a light switch in the aft cabin. So he cleaned the contacts and put some “no-oxide” dope on it. But to get to the area you want to work, you always have to move things around, twist you body into small places, then put everything back.
We bought a new hose for pumping fluids overboard. It’s an emergency bilge pump and can be used as a fire fighter hose. So today Dave added a screen and a check valve to the hose.
This morning, Ricardo spent some time with me teaching me how to add advertisements to my blog. Every time someone clicks on an ad, I will receive money. So click away. I would enjoy hearing your feed back on how it looks on my blog. Is it tacky or distracting or OK? Let me know what you think.
I rode bicycle to the grocery store. It is about a mile to the Winn Dixie. I took the side roads through some interesting neighborhoods. What really impressed me today was the way the roads are made to go around some beautiful large live oak trees. They would narrow to one lane, or divide around the trees.
October 20, 2015 new boat photos, Brunswick, GA
The boat at our dock that was between us and the shore left this morning. So we took the opportunity to take a few photos of the boat. We took some early when the light was best. But then I made Dave pose for a couple more after I had showered and changed clothes. I am surprised you can’t see the scowl on his face during the second time we took photos.
Several of the boaters car pooled to Gary Lee’s BBQ for lunch again. Their ribs and brisket are really good.
We bought a “gale sail”, or storm jib sail which arrived today. This sail is hanked on over the jib sail. Which means we store it in a bag and bring it out and attach it to the forestay by hand. This happens to go over our jib sail that is wound around the forestay. We will use it in heavy winds. So it isn’t something you pull out at the last minute. OR you are VERY careful going forward on the boat in heavy winds. The smaller sail won’t hold the wind as long when it is blowing hard. If it is a light wind day, you want more sail out to “catch the wind”.
We bought a “gale sail”, or storm jib sail which arrived today. This sail is hanked on over the jib sail. Which means we store it in a bag and bring it out and attach it to the forestay by hand. This happens to go over our jib sail that is wound around the forestay. We will use it in heavy winds. So it isn’t something you pull out at the last minute. OR you are VERY careful going forward on the boat in heavy winds. The smaller sail won’t hold the wind as long when it is blowing hard. If it is a light wind day, you want more sail out to “catch the wind”.
October 16-19, 2015 Life at BLM in Brunswick, GA
Oct 16
I spent the day on a bicycle tour of the town running errands. First I went to the Family Dollar store on J street (I remember J is for junk). I needed to buy a large envelope to mail in copies of my Continuing Education for my South Dakota Dental License. We have to have 100 hours every 5 years. We just log in the information online. But you can be randomly audited to prove you have the hours. I received notice of the audit back in September, but most of my information was in our storage unit. So I spent time last night and this morning scanning the completion certificates into our computer. Then printing them to send copies to SD.
Then I headed to the Post Office to mail them. I stopped by a liquor store to pick up some creme de menthe for a cake I want to make this weekend. Then I met some other boaters for happy hour down town. But I was back to the boat in time for the marina happy hour at 5:00. Crazy how that dictates your social life now a days.
Dave spent most of the day sleeping, trying to feel better.
Oct 17
Highlight of the day was watching Alabama college football team beat the Texas A&M Aggies. Roll Tide!!
Sun Oct 18
I enjoyed singing with the choir again at the Catholic Church. The weather was nice enough to ride bicycle. There was a pot luck today at the marina. I made my mother’s famous lemon cake. The one where you drizzle the lemon icing over and into the cake. Very moist and it was a hit. There was a Packers football game that started about 4:30, so we enjoyed the great meal with the game.
Monday Oct 19
Today I started sorting through some of our family photos that had been stored in the storage unit. I think this is going to be a big undertaking. I need to research how I want to store these old photos before I start scanning them. Plus our Doxie Scanner is running slower than usual. So we will need to update that also. I think this will be a project for next summer. But I enjoyed posting high school graduation pictures of my nieces.
I spent the day on a bicycle tour of the town running errands. First I went to the Family Dollar store on J street (I remember J is for junk). I needed to buy a large envelope to mail in copies of my Continuing Education for my South Dakota Dental License. We have to have 100 hours every 5 years. We just log in the information online. But you can be randomly audited to prove you have the hours. I received notice of the audit back in September, but most of my information was in our storage unit. So I spent time last night and this morning scanning the completion certificates into our computer. Then printing them to send copies to SD.
Then I headed to the Post Office to mail them. I stopped by a liquor store to pick up some creme de menthe for a cake I want to make this weekend. Then I met some other boaters for happy hour down town. But I was back to the boat in time for the marina happy hour at 5:00. Crazy how that dictates your social life now a days.
Dave spent most of the day sleeping, trying to feel better.
Oct 17
Highlight of the day was watching Alabama college football team beat the Texas A&M Aggies. Roll Tide!!
Sun Oct 18
I enjoyed singing with the choir again at the Catholic Church. The weather was nice enough to ride bicycle. There was a pot luck today at the marina. I made my mother’s famous lemon cake. The one where you drizzle the lemon icing over and into the cake. Very moist and it was a hit. There was a Packers football game that started about 4:30, so we enjoyed the great meal with the game.
Monday Oct 19
Today I started sorting through some of our family photos that had been stored in the storage unit. I think this is going to be a big undertaking. I need to research how I want to store these old photos before I start scanning them. Plus our Doxie Scanner is running slower than usual. So we will need to update that also. I think this will be a project for next summer. But I enjoyed posting high school graduation pictures of my nieces.
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| Sherri, Katie and Heidi, Linda and Don in back |
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| My brother Don, daughters Katie, Sherri, Heidi, and wife Linda |
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| Don, Heidi, Katie, Sherri, and Linda |
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| My son Pete and Me about 1995 |
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| Love this picture of my mom and her sisters about 1993 mom-Teresa Zeller, Julie Bowar, and Dorothy Zeller |
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