You could be forgiven for thinking our lives were finally settling down.
After all... in the last year alone we've let go of our beloved good ship Shannon; traversed the US and parts of Mexico by land, sea and air in search of her replacement; taken on the refit of a summer boat (now nick-named "Holey Mojo" cuz of all the little fixin's needed); acquired Lucy (the cutest little Casita trailer); helped Kathy's mom move from her home of 50+ years to a very nice apartment in Ladysmith; fallen in love with fresh grapefruits off the trees growing on each lot at The Outdoor Resort in Cathedral City (not to mention the pools, tennis courts, and movie nights); finally (with the help of friends in La Paz) located a suitable boat for continuing our explorations in the Sea of Cortez and travelled to La Paz (during the sale of) and San Carlos to prepare her for sitting out the summer on the shipyard; and finally... prepared our home (a major task involving de-junking and major flower pot restorations) and listed it AND (yes, officially yesterday) sold it. Phew... I got tired just writing that out!
So yes, you would think our life can now finally settle down; and for sure it will. There's just this one, last push starting up. In the next three weeks (yup, I said three... the new folks need the house pretty quick), we need to sort out what stuff needs to go to Mexico with us, and what stuff we'll need for 'living small'. Most of our furniture, etc., will be heading to storage until next spring when we'll have time to 'shop' for a new home here in Maple Bay or near by, and/but we have to ID those things we'll need to be able to access as soon as we get home and before we retrieve all the belongings stored with the storage company. That task.. the IDing of all the little things... is taking longer than the packing. And, who knew how many boxes you can go through in the blink of an eye ! The house already looks like a maze with little pathways through piles of boxes here and there... hmmmm... We haven't moved for the past ten years. Now I know why! Thank fully we've had several friends come forward with room in their homes for some of those very fragile boxes, the instruments, some of the house plants, and most of the outdoor potted plants. As well, friends have come forward to help do some of the packing and even my sister is abandoning her little piece of paradise on Saturna Island to dive in to our mountain of stuff and help pack for a few days. I know we'll get there in time (moving day is July 15th) but I must confess, at the moment, the job awaiting us feels staggering.
We will be 'living small' from mid-July until mid-September when we begin our usual trek south in Chuck the truck (and this year with Lucy). While we're here our home-base (temporary address) will be in Crofton (home of dear friends) but our daily life will include cruising on the SV (sailing vessel) Mojo and camping in the TT (travel trailer) Lucy. You'll be able to find us lurking in and around the waters and anchorages of the Gulf Islands or camped out on Quadra Island and other such lovely places.
So until there's time to write again, please know you're in our thoughts... and that we're busy stuffing things into boxes and wishing we'd taken the time when we had it to sort and pitch :-) We've heard from many of you who follow this blog and I just want to say thank you. It makes writing all the more fun when you can believe that someone out there is enjoying your words and even, now and then, sharing the visions... That makes a writer feel pretty good.
We hope all of you are doing well and that the summer weather is kind to you as we move forward into what will likely be one of the warmest summers we've had yet. Take good care. Will write again when we have some adventures to share... and after we've become temporarily and only ever-so slightly 'homeless'.
