June 4, 2008

Hello everyone,

Windswept IV is buttoned up, de-bugged, emptied of extra stuff, covered with sunshade and stored for the hot summer months. Hopefully all of our preparation for the storage will result in a dry, mildew-free boat when we return in late October.

Green Cove Springs Marina was bustling, dealing with all of the part-time cruisers who pop in for a few weeks in spring, haul and store. Then we come back in the fall, fill the work yard for a month or two and depart again. But the crew there handles all of us without many hiccups. They figure out where to store all of these boat and how to retrieve them without moving others in order to do so. A good crew!

Once all was taken care of in Florida, we turned the Volvo northward and arrived in Ontario on April 21st, about a week or so earlier than usual. But, the house was calling me. Things to do, rooms to find furniture for etc. We bought a bed and moved in, without phone or TV! But that is a normal situation for us as we have no phone aboard and seldom can watch TV unless we are stateside. Approx 10 days later, the phone was connected, TV bought, hooked to satellite and I got the wireless up and running also. Yeah! Now I have instruction manuals everywhere as I learn how to run these new systems.Then, I will teach Murray.

Since our arrival back here six weeks ago, we have been keeping very busy: installing garage door opener, ceiling fans, exterior lights, digging out shrubs, planting new ones, finding furniture and tools at auction, visiting family and friends, going to garage sales, and basically just spending money! Man, it is worse than the boat. But, the bleeding has slowed down now and there are days when we don’t spend anything. Hopefully, there will be more of those to come.

Next week, we will travel to Killarney to visit friends at the Lodge, help train the new dockmasters and to retrieve our small sailboat. The decision was made not to launch it this summer, as we expect to continue to be kept busy here for much of the time. Next year we can launch and spend some time poking about in Fandango.

So, that is what has been happening here. A different summer to look forward to.

Heather & Murray