It has been a very long time since I have posted anything to our blog; I've thought about it plenty and have written postings in my head when the ever present insomnia strikes or while working but never have those thoughts made it to the keyboard.

I am a bit envious of the folks that are toasting their tootsies on their boats in warm climes BUT I have been quite at peace with being dirt-based for these few months even if it means that I will be sporting a down-filled jacket, mitts, hat, scarf and boots. It is a great time to re-evaluate just what I think about life on board. As Mike has said in the blog this sailing life is not my first choice but I am prepared to participate to the best of my abilities. I don't want to do it for the rest of my days but - again, it is fine for now. He wants to take the boat overseas in 2012 BUT after taking to him about it we have agreed that we will set the budget so that Perry and I will fly over to meet him where he makes landfall. I enjoy the challenges that life on board presents and have derived great satisfaction from things like being able to turn out superb meals on a two-burner stove with a miniscule oven in cramped quarters but, again, I don't want to do that for the rest of my life. Other than relatively easy access to family there are really only three things I miss about life on the dirt - don't laugh - soaking in a bathtub, use of a full-sized stove and frig, and having all of my tools at hand. Ah, the tools - sob, snivel: cookbooks and a full array of pots, pans, casseroles, bowls, my Kitchen Aid mixer, gadgets; calligraphy books, paper, pens, inks; card-making tools and supplies; my serger and trusty 35 year old Singer zigzag, a rainbow of threads and trims; beading and jewellery making books and supplies; pattern books and wool and needles and crochet hooks - oh my. One of the hardest tasks for me when faced with moving to the boat was to go through the supplies for everything I like to do to keep my brain and hands occupied and select what would be practical for life on the boat and the limited space available - what could survive getting damp and be rugged enough to survive in the environment. I was really happy when all of it came out of storage - Mike wasn't because we live on the third floor of an elevator-less building. I drew the line at bringing the cookbooks out and find I have been using the Internet a lot more for recipe searches than I ever did before. Besides Mike would have had a fit if I brought them to the apartment and the required bookshelves and so forth.
I have had an interesting few months since I returned to bringing home a wage. I worked for a while at two jobs, six days per week and found out quickly just what my energy level could tolerate and it was not working six out of seven days. I appreciated everything I learned while sewing at Dave's canvas shop and will carry that knowledge over to making things for use on Nelleke but when the owner of the gift shop was able to offer me five fulltime days per week I decided to resign from Dave's.

Working at the gift shop has been a revelation for me - the tourist trade is a tough one and there have been plenty of times that I felt like letting the smiling Nova Scotian native façade slip and telling some ignorant tourists just what I thought of them. There are way too many cruise ship passengers that don't do any research on their ports of call and need geography and social studies lessons - to whit, Halifax, Nova Scotia, is part of Canada and we are a sovereign country with our own currency. Why on earth would a traveler from the USA expect to receive change in US dollars - give me a break! Do some planning like we do when we travel south of the border. Many of the tourists want made in Nova Scotia products at made in China prices and some are rude enough to complain LOUDLY about it to their oafish travel companions. They need to play tourist in their own country and have a look at the labels on the products that are for sale in their own shops - our experience in other countries has been that the cheaper goods are made offshore and the more expensive ones are made by local artisans just like here. I have been treated like I am an idiot or worse like I am invisible by some tourists - how dare they - just because I have chosen to work for a few months as a clerk doesn't make me less of a person than they are. All of that aside, I have enjoyed the interactions with many folks, especially those from the mid western US, Ireland, Scotland, and other parts of Canada - almost overshadows the ugly interactions with some ignorant folks usually from New York or New Jersey and always over receiving their change in Canadian currency. Why on earth would they pay the money to travel to a different country if they are not prepared to embrace the ways of that country? Beats me. In the end, once I get past being angry at the ignorant folks I end up just feeling sorry for them as they sure don't seem to enjoy the privileges and opportunities that their travel affords them.

I had better stop ranting before I descend into a supremely bad mood and I had better get back at my current project - making knitted Christmas presents for the family members.