Odd sort of day this was, but progress has been made.

We started off by visiting Dave of DRH Canvas and Marine to help mark off the top of the bimini so that he could put some clear panels in it to make it easier for us to trim the mizzen without having to lean way out over the side to see the set of the sail. From there we went into the base to get Barb her dependant's ID card and to get me my retirement card. Her's was easy; mine will have to be sent off to Ottawa to get done. I guess they don't trust the folks at CFB Halifax to do it right or something. And then I had a sort of pointless trip into the Stad hospital to see the MO that had been looking after me during my last posting there. Judy Price is a great lady and she was bound by the regulations, but military doctors can only work on serving members. We retirees are lowly civilians now and we have to go to a civilian doctor. I guess all the platitudes about putting the member first changes when you are no longer a member. Once you are out you are out and they don't want to hear from you. I suppose if they had to give medical care to all the retirees and their dependants they would quickly run out of money.

That's one thing that is amazing me by the current debate south of the border about socialized medicine. How can anyone actually be against it unless they have vested interest in the money that can be made from the ill health of their fellow citizens? Granted here in Canada we sometimes have a longer wait for elective and semi-elective procedures, but our drugs are cheaper even if you are paying for them yourself, and they work on a triage system whereby if they think you are a hypochondriac you are at the end of the queue; if you are dead meat you are second to the end of the queue; but if they think that by acting now they can save your life you go to the front of the line. That's what happened to me with my melanoma - 10 days from initial diagnosis I was in the recovery room with an 8" incision on my leg. And the best part? It cost me $0.0! How could anyone not want that? I have had several doctors from the US try to explain the benefits of a pay as you go system to me and no matter how you spin it, it still means that them with the dough gets first kick at the care.

Anyway, after being rejected by the Forces Health Care system, I found a civilian doctor who saw me on 3 hours notice and gave me a prescription for my meds, plus diagnosed my back pain as muscle spasm and recommended a course of treatment.

I'll sign off here and post so that Barb can add her two cents worth.........

....... OK, my turn. I have not been a frequent poster to the blog but I have promised myself that I will rectify that during this winter's trip, starting today.

I don't know where the summer has gone. All of a sudden the air has crispness to it, the butter in the dish in the galley hardens overnight, and my feet need socks and shoes rather than just sandals - time to make tracks for warmer climes. I did accomplish a fair amount and did some things that we had not planned to do - among them was to pack up KT's worldly goods and help with her move to Saint John to her new employer. Halifax seems a bit strange now that she no longer holds any immediate family.

My latest project was to clean the crud off the pontoons of our Walker Bay RID - we only bought it last summer but it had already developed an unhealthy crackled-looking crust on it - yuck! A couple of hours of elbow grease and mild detergent yesterday did not do anything other than push me to enjoy a few glasses of Merlot and a nice barbequed steak with new potatoes and fresh snow peas. When we visited Dave Hickey's canvas shop this morning we purchased a product he recommended for cleaning that crud in no time - Captain Phab's Inflatable & Vinyl Cleaner. Wow! This product has been added to my list of things you cannot be without. It was $16 CDN for 22 oz and it took only ¾ of an hour and minor work with a soft bristle brush followed by a fresh water rinse to clean the accumulated munge off of the pontoons. Thank you, Dave, for your product suggestion.

After a year of full-time living aboard we now have a fair idea of what we need and don't need to be comfortable and safe on Nelleke. And now for that list of things I would rather not be on board without, in no particular order:

• Good coffee - Just Us Coffee Roasters from Wolfville, NS; Good tea - Morse's Orange Pekoe from Halifax and Twinings Earl Grey
• Chocolate - Ghiardelli and Lindt; decent wines and cheeses
• Herbes de Provence
• Properly fitting shoes, sandals and undies, Tilley hats
• Aveda Lip Saver, SPF 15 - this lasts a long time and works
• The aforementioned Captain Phab Inflatable & Vinyl Cleaner
• Bar Keeper's Friend cleanser for the galley (also takes marks off the boat hull)
• The Black and Decker Mouse Sander
• The Dremel tool
• Good books and thought-provoking magazines - we have made a bit of a compromise here after we culled our stash of books on board. We still buy the odd magazine but instead of traditionally bound books we now each have a Sony eReader.
• Sturdy good quality ebony or bamboo knitting needles and Lucy Neatby's knitting DVDs
• Our new mattress that Dave Hickey and crew delivered yesterday - his team has also totally replaced all of our cabin mattresses - wonderful, and we are awaiting our refurbished salon settee cushions. This work was one of the major expenses for this summer but we don't regret it for one second. Nelleke is now our home and it is important that she is as comfortable as possible- the 30 year old mattresses and cushions were just not cutting it any more.
• DVD movies and a wide range of music CDs and a decent camera

That's it from me for the night - time to pick out one of those movies. Bye for now.

(Note from Mike - I'd like to encourage Barb's postings as much as possible. Not only does she write very well but she adds a fresh viewpoint to the blog and will help it to keep from becoming stale.)