Eleven months to go....

[Hilde's Log]

OMG. We are actually prepping the boat.

We've been living off the boat in an RV (so much ROOOOOOM) for about 2 ½ years now, and she's suffered. Boats like to be used, lived on, and loved, and we've done none of those things.

Do you remember how hard your last year of anything was? Senior years at high school and college come to mind. Last month of any pregnancy? Time just seems to stretch to the horizon. It takes virtual decades to get to the end and then (*SNAP* like a rubber band) you're there.

We're in the molasses stage of ending our work careers. We thought we'd done that back in 2006, but then got mangled in the Great Recession of 2008 and had to claw our way back to solvency. Almost there….11 months to go….

So we are prepping the boat.

I know, I feel a bit like the girl who cried wolf. But this is different. Really. David and I are about to reach the Golden Retirement Age(s) and we've crunched numbers. It's doable. Before, when we were ready to pull our hair out and leave, it just wasn't. We added and added and came up with needing to die at 73. Or 80. And die after a decade or so of absolutely no health-related issues. We couldn't afford health issues. I still can't afford health-related issues; David was recently excited to receive Medicare benefits for his one dermatologist appointment.

But now, after eight very long years of working and not touching our savings...we can do it. Next May.

This is me applying the first coat of varnish down below. You can see the contrast of the sanded surface to the new glossy varnish! Like getting your nails done. I am doing all the woodwork below, except for the starboard side of the salon, which David did last fall. It's looking great!

What you can't see are the boxes and bits and rags and tools and crap all over the place, the v-berth stuffed with everything we took out of the salon, the utter turmoil of house remodeling. Be glad you can't.

This is the port side, behind the settee. The top piece of wood is newly varnished. The bulkhead to the right is ready to be varnished as soon as the top piece has all the coats applied. The horizontal slats don't need an upgrade (thank goodness). Because this is not a strip to the bone situation, just a re-do, we're talking 3-4 coats, not 6-10. It takes two full days for the stuff to dry, so it can be a lengthy process.

David is plugging away at all the upgrades and fixes and repairs that need doing. His next project is a hatch in the cockpit so he can access the engine, etc. without having to be Gumby and slide down inside the very skinny and claustrophobic lazarettes.

So think of us and send us some energy on Wednesday evenings and every Saturday and Sunday as we move forward.

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