While Thanksgiving brought such balmy, tepid weather, December is quite a different story. We saw our 1st "official" Hupper Island snow storm. It started at dark on the 4th (a perfect time) and snowed thru the night. Accumulating only about 4 inches, the windswept island was a true picture perfect winter wonderland. Of course my new Nikon camera was out for warranty work but fortunately we had a partial backup, disposable one. Our hike around Hupper on the 5th was truly magical. No sounds except for the lapping of the icy Atlantic, the creaking of the pine trees and the hardy eagles and sea gulls still flying around the crystal bluish-white, chilly skies. Be sure to check out our photo gallery for some of these very modest views of Hupper Magic. Our addition progresses nicely, but a little slower pace is definitely a reality. Not quite sure if it's because the day light hours are getting shorter, the colder temps (generally in the 30's & 40's) or we are just getting a little older and don't move as fast as before...nah... The roofing and soffits are complete, we are fully insulated inside and our final exterior door is primed, painted with 3 coats AND installed! The sheet rocking of ceilings and walls started on Monday, the 14th, and we are lucky to have Dana (our local carpenter extraordinaire) working with Rob instead of Jan (our able bodied worker bee). He is in his early 40's with a much younger back and muscles, is a VERY hard worker AND he knows what he is doing! I however am in charge of prep work, clean-up and of course, making lunch and making them stop working! We should be done with hanging the sheet rock before Christmas day as we will be taking a little break!

As I said winter has arrived, maybe not according to the calendar, but DEFINITELY by the temps outside! Thank goodness for Down comforters!!! For the past 3 days, High temps have steadily dropped, Highs starting in the 20's now only the teens and lows at night in the single digits....BRRRR! The term "wind chill factor" has been reintroduced to our vocabulary ...double BRRR!! The propane heater has been getting a work-out and one of our rules is no work until the room reaches 32 degree...okay, that's Rob's new rule, mine of course is "let's wait until mid day when temps are their highest"!!! They say that these temps are 10-15 degrees colder than "normal" and usually not until end of January early February! Ohhhh that's REALLY encouraging don't you think!!!

Our latest adventure reminds of island life is very much like cruiser life! We woke-up this morning to check out the sea state (we pick up Dana at the port at 8am unless the sea/winds prevent it) and noticed our boat was not in front of the house!!! It was 6:30am, the winds were blowing "like stink", white caps were bobbing all the surrounding trawlers like corks and the sea smoke was haunting in the dawning light. Rob made a couple of calls to the mainland and a long time friend of ours and all Hupper Island residents, Jerry Cushman, a local fisherman, went out in the single digit temps, 30 mph gusting winds, used his local knowledge and found our little 14ft skiff on the rocky ledge just on the other side of the harbor. The painter line and O ring had pulled loose from the bow of the boat some time during the night and the boat sailed a fairly straight line across the harbor. Boy, were we ever lucky! However Rob was already thinking about what kind of NEW replacement boat he would want to get! What a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach when you look out and see your "only mode of transportation" missing. Only to have the assistance of other fellow boaters immediately come to your aid! Island life, just like cruising life!