Tom and Cyndys Excellent European Adventure: May 2007

87 & Lovin' It!

No, that's not my age (yet), that's how warm it got today. I was blessed with the foresight to take today as a vacation day - yes, I know, it's Thursday, but I had some chores I needed to do, so I managed to get back to the lake at about 3PM. I went for my first swim of the season - I think I was in the water all of 5 minutes maybe! I swam from our spot to the next one down, and got out very, very quickly. Not only was the water COLD, but I was sharing the cove with two water snakes. I splashed quite a bit and they swam away from me, but I decided to get out anyway and let them go on their way in peace.

And now we are having a thunderstorm. What a perfect ending to such a great day! We love storms, especially as seen from the boat.

May 24, 2007

All the wildlife action around here tends to happen either very early in the AM (when Tom can't focus) or at dusk, which doesn't make for great images, but we did catch the following critters:

This is a mink, having just scared the duck off her nest- he's about to grab that egg and take it away. You can't tell from this photo, but this little animal's coat looks soft and glossy, even from our far off vantage point. No wonder women want to wear them!

This is that same poor mama duck, being chased by Bernie, the big white goose. I think the duck got the notion that she wasn't appreciated in this neighborhood, and moved to a friendlier spot. We haven't seen her in a few days.

And if you look closely at the photo below, you will see the beaver swimming by. This guy is huge - much bigger than a small poodle, and we think this is the same one that has been around here for many years. He has a routine that helps us to spot him, he swims by about 8 PM each evening.

Bursitis is a pain. ...

in my case, the shoulder! I thought bursitis only affected OLD people.

I have to say that I have never experienced worse pain-even during childbirth! My entire left arm hurt so bad Friday night that I almost succombed to a trip to the ER- but I managed to hold out for the Dr. who has Saturday hours. Two doses of a strong anti-inflammatory, and I was at least able to sleep. I did take today off, and I am much more comfortable now, so back to work tomorrow.

Ramblings from the boat

For those of you who like to know these things, we have been living on the boat for the last week. We've had some good and bad experiences already!

Good- meeting up with old friends, and catching up on everyone's winter activities.
Bad- finding out a family we liked a lot won't be returning, and seeing "For Sale" signs on some of our acquaintances' boats-meaning they are planning to leave as well.

Good- watching the beaver swim by, seeing the Canadian geese with their goslings, seeing a mink! Yes, a live one!
Bad- watching the mink attack a duck and steal her eggs.

Good- One or two days of t-shirt weather
Bad- Seven or eight days of cold, rain, and grey clouds. Today for instance, the high was a meager 55 degrees, and no sun all day.

Good- better weather forecast for next week -65 - 70 degrees
Bad- having to work

Good-Finding a great used stove to replace the old one on the boat
Bad- having to cook ;-)

and here are a few rambling thoughts on:

Batteries- why do they always seem to give out just when you want them the most? Like in the middle of the night when you try to turn on the bathroom light and realize the batteries are dead? or when you grab the camera to shoot the beaver swimming by, and find that the batteries are dead?

Bargains - don't you just love to find a real bargain? For a few years now, we have been coveting a set of Cuisinart stackable, stainless-steel cookware with removable handles that we have seen at boat shows. Two pots, two frying pans, two lids, and they all nest together needing very little storage space. Since the handles are removable, these pots fit into a much smaller space than traditional ones. Price? $200+ Last Sat. my friend Ellen showed me a set she bought at the local department store. On sale, a door-buster special, price good till 1PM only, $65!!!! Of course it was 2PM when she told me this. On Sunday, after church, we decided to check it out, and the price card said they were $99. We decided to splurge and get them anyway, but when the register rang them up, they came up at $65!! Oh joy! Since the weather has been so crappy, we've put them and our new stove to good use already.

Bye for now, I'll be back when we have some nice pics to share!

First in!

Look who was the first boat in this year! As you can see, we're still not "green" yet, although we're slowly getting there.

Visitors welcome anytime! Just call first to be sure we're in port.