Sorry for the recent news black out, we've been busy.
Amy's grandmother, Grace, finally succumbed to the ravages of Alzheimer's last week. It's been a long, long, long struggle, but now it's finally over. Amy was at her bedside in New York when she passed and although it was a sad event, we are both grateful that it's over. Thanks to all of you who have sent your thoughts along to us.
We are currently at the Buddy Fred's dock in NC. I have started working on the three page project list of repairs and upgrades, but it will take quite a while to get through it all. One of the first projects we are tackling this year is to finally turn our spare stateroom into full-time weasel housing.
We made the decision based on a number of factors, but at the very top were that we now have a ferret tribe of 4, we've only ever had two sets over night guests in 8+ years of cruising and we are going to be replacing our salon table/drawer unit with a collapsible model that will allow us to turn the entire salon seating area into a sleeper berth for three. Couple these reasons with the sheer amount of space that the weasel cage that never actually gets used takes up in the aft cabin and somehow I think we'll even come out ahead on the whole "living space" thing.
Tomorrow is my birthday. I will be 39 this year and that is only 1 year away from extremely old. Since I can't stop time, I guess I'm going to have to start working on what my definition of old is.
In other news, the new weasels seem to have adjusted to life afloat. They have fallen into a routine of sorts and all four still seem to get along very well. The two girls aren't sure they like Amy all the time, but you know how women can be.
Marley seems happy to have friends again and is especially pleased that he is no longer referred to as "Big Dumb" as Bodhi has easily out-distanced the rest of the tribe in that department.
Frank and Debbie from Fat Chance stopped by this past weekend on their way home from the Bahamas. We had last seen each other down in Duncantown, Ragged Islands, right before we had to start back towards civilization so that Milo could see a vet and Amy could get to her grandmother's.
We spent a couple of days swapping stories and just sort of catching up on what's been going on. They took us to dinner in town one night and I cooked for everyone the next. I wished they could have stayed longer, but they had to keep moving north so Deb could get ready to go back to work in June.
Right now, our summer/fall plans are still being worked out. Next week we're going to New York for 10 days with the weasel tribe to close out granny's place and spend a couple of days seeing the city. What that means isn't entirely clear to me, but Amy assures me that it will be fun. I am skeptical.
Ok, that's about it for now. More to follow, end of line....