There has been a lot of stuff going on, as Barb said, not the least of which is my new job. Lest there be some misunderstanding, we have not given up the dream of the cruising lifestyle. Merely, we have deferred the longer cruises until Barb is back in her normal top form with two functioning knees. As those of you who sail offshore can attest to work on deck at sea you cannot be physically hobbled in any way and as Barb and I do most of our sailing with just two of us aboard and I am not a single handed sailor, at least not at this stage of my life, we need both of us functioning.

After one day, the new job would seem to be just what we were looking for: a great group of people to work with; a reasonable salary which will augment the cruising kitty; and a challenge for yours truly. We are planning to do weekend cruises during the summer along with one 2-3 week gunkhole trip somewhere, and a winter cruise somewhere in Europe for which we will rent some sort of boat over there and fly over to it. The first thing that I would like to try is one of those British Canal longboat cruises. Have you heard of them? The boat is anywhere up to 60 feet long and maybe 8 feet wide. In the old days they were pulled by horses that trudged along the banks towing the barges (‘cause that’s what they were, really). Nowadays they have a small engine that put-puts it along at a sedate pace. When it starts to get dark you pull over to the bank and tie off to a spike that you drive into the ground. Or you can stop at one of the pubs that cater to the longboat clientele. That would make a nice pokey king of vacation to take in the fall when the weather was still OK and which with the new job we are possibly going to be able to afford.

Barb has been working at the painting while I was at work. I must admit that when I got home I really didn’t feel too much like doing any carpentry or renovation work. Perhaps I’ll get back into the swing of things with time. Until then I will be doing most of the Mike stuff on the weekends. There are all those social activities to occupy my time in the evenings as well….