Second Star to the Right

I really enjoy star gazing during my night watches, and since my watches are six hours apart, I get to see different constellations and how they move across the sky. So far, I have identified Orion Ð my constant companion, the Southern Cross, Taurus, Gemini, Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) and Ursa Minor (the Little Dipper), Polaris (north star), Sirius (brightest star in the night sky), and my new personal favorite, Pleiades. I saw a fuzzy group of stars in my peripheral vision and looked at them through the binoculars to see a clear group of stars. My Star Walk app helped me identify these as Pleiades or the Seven Sisters. I love the description from Star Walk Ð a group of seven hot middle-aged B-stars. Sounds like a description for a bad reality TV show about aging Hollywood female stars.

Weather-wise, the main thing that has changed is that there are lots of squalls around. We still have good wind from the east between 18-24 knots, but before a squall hits, we've seen gusts close to 40 knots. On the positive side, the boat gets a nice rinsing with fresh water during a squall and they only last a few minutes. In addition to the bigger winds, the seas last night were big and confused and loud. One wave hit us broadside while I was on watch that was so loud that Charles came running upstairs to see if I had been thrown down. I hadn't, but the wave crashing into the hull of the boat sounded as if someone had.

The other problem with these rolling seas is opening cabinets. This morning, I added a couple more bruises to my growing collection when I opened the cabinet to get a pan to heat some milk to make a latte for Charles. The boat lurched to port just as I opened the cabinet, and the big heavy dutch oven and skillets on the second shelf shot out against my shin and landed on my foot. Lovely.

As far as food goes, we still have lots to eat. We did, however, eat the last of the lettuce for lunch, and overall, our produce stores are getting low. We still have a cabbage and two butternut squash, some apples and oranges, and onions and potatoes. The main problem right now is preparation and holding the meal steady while we eat. When preparing the ingredients, you must be very careful where you put the knife down as that is one object you do not want to go flying around the galley. We've become masters of One Pot Wonders which is a good thing, but we are really missing side dishes and salads. I'm looking forward to going home at Christmas and cooking some multi-course dinners for a change and eating them from a plate that is stationary on a table instead of in a bowl that I must hold so my meal won't end up in my lap.

My son says I talk too much about food in this blog. I guess that's because planning what we are going to eat is one of the biggest decisions of the day. Sorry, David!