s/v Carina

The First Three Fish . . . Finally!

2008-05-22T12:02:00.003-04:00

After being skunked for over a year, Carina finally caught fish on this trip. The first one, Sloane's, got tossed back . . . but it was a real, live fish! Finally!

Next, Mike caught a dolphin! Bill showed us a few tricks with our new gaff while Sloane demonstrated one of her old tricks (pouring vodka--in this case, over the gills).

Excited by the fishing frenzy, this little guy just went ahead and jumped on board by himself.

Even that one was better than we'd done in the previous year. More news from the trip soon!

Boat Preparations

2008-05-21T11:29:00.006-04:00

First, the night before flying down to Marsh Harbour, Bill demonstrated his ability to be a part of the trip home with Carina by successfully completing his hazing--standing in the shower holding a life preserver while other crew threw salt in his eyes & canned vegetables at him. (The photographer [Sloane] missed the last two parts due to having hands full of canned vegetables and salt.)

Question: How many people does it take to change a lightbulb on a sailboat?

Answer: Fifty-eight. One (Mike) to go up the mast, one (Bill) to crank him up there (and then hide from falling objects), one to tail Bill (Sloane), and fifty-five to stand around on the dock drinking beer, telling tall-tales, making jokes, and being glad it's not them.

After last year's forever-long journey home, we wanted to be sure to have plenty of fuel.

Water . . . well, let's just say those two green water jugs stored 6 gallons of air each all of the way home in the v berth. And we still got home on less than 1/2 of a 25-gallon tank with about 70 extra gallons in reserve. We probably shouldn't discuss body odor at the end of the trip.

We missed the opportunity of winning some money from Bill when we managed to fit the dingy into its nifty little storage bag. (Too late, he told us he would have bet there was no way.)

But we didn't miss the opportunity of final drinks the night before departure from Marsh Harbour. Nor the night after that, which we again called the final night before departure from Marsh Harbour. Wait for a weather window--drink beer--wait for a weather window--drink beer. Like hand and glove.

Home Safely

2008-05-20T10:35:00.002-04:00

We are home safely! We fared much better than this mid-trip stowaway that we found one morning on deck. More details to follow . . .

Getting ready to come home

2008-05-12T00:28:00.000-04:00

OK, it's time to bring Carina back to Wrightsville Beach. While we are in NC trying to tie up loose ends and crew, Carina is having her bottom cleaned. She loves it when we do this because she knows it's time to look and do her best. As much as she likes the day sails, they never really test her ability, and she loves to show us her capability.

Well, I know Carina is ready to go. Now with any luck, the weather will co-operate and we will be underway around the 15th of May. We'll be at sea for 4-7 days, maybe longer if we don't catch any fish! We have searched for crew and have decided to go with 3 for this trip. Our good friend Weston is busy with family and is preparing for a year or so sailing with a final destination of New Zealand. He will be traveling on Mike Compton's and his friend Gary's new boat, s/v Indigo.

We called on another great friend, Bill Whaley. Bill is a seasoned and accomplished sailor, which is always good to have, but what was more important to us is his guarantee that we would catch fish! I'm sorry Weston, but over a year without a fish has left us searching. Yes, this is a fishing trip with a destination!

Well, after we asked Bill to join us, he was more excited than we thought. He got so excited that he even got a haircut by his mom for the trip. By the time she was done, Bill had lost all of his hair. The way I see it is he will use less water underway, and that's a good thing. As far as I know, Bill doesn't sleep on watch (Mike!).

As for me, I'm so excited I ran out of things to buy so I decided to press all my T-shirts. You have to look good out there!

And Sloane, don't worry, she knows what she's doing . . .

Check back--we'll have a full rundown of the passage.

Closure

2008-04-25T14:43:00.003-04:00

I know it's been awhile, but we've been dreading this post.

Echo Ficalora
July 24, 1995-April 14, 2008

Today's Adventure

2008-04-09T11:48:00.003-04:00

Very unfair to have to go to the dentist on one's half-birthday. And since when did they start using chocolate-flavored polishing gel? You leave feeling like you've brushed your teeth with a Hershey bar.

Home in April

2008-04-08T13:26:00.001-04:00

We came home to find the dogwoods in full bloom . . .

What a nice sight to wake up to!

March and April Abaco Pics

2008-04-07T09:37:00.003-04:00

This time, our friends Eric & Amy joined us in the Abacos. We started in Marsh Harbour, then visited Guana Cay, Elbow Cay, and Man-O-War Cay.

Amy was a little reluctant to dance one evening, so Eric helped this way.

Mike borrowed the camera for a while for these shots.

Another day at Grabbers on Guana Cay.

Eric hard at work on a Monday afternoon.

Preparing to Leave Again

2008-03-27T09:08:00.003-04:00

We leave to return to the Bahamas tomorrow. As we prepare to leave again, one of major tasks is prepping a couple of weeks of Echo's dog food.

All of this (along with a bunch of frozen veggies and leftovers from our dinners) has to be prepared and ~~shoved~~ placed into these.

And then Elisha gets to clear out her freezer to make room for the Lion King's meals.

Abaco in February, Part the End

2008-03-20T09:24:00.006-04:00

Sunday, March 2: Barefoot Man day! Sunday morning, we had breakfast at Grabbers and then made our way up the hill to Nippers to see Barefoot Man's concert. We started on the beach, where we noticed that the skids that had been stacked for the bonfire later were being dismantled by concert goers who thought they looked like great beach chairs.

Mike's beach chair is a self-constructed "condomolium," a creation of our friend P.J.

The crowd for the Barefoot Man swelled . . .

. . . to the point that we realized, "You know what? We saw the man play last year. Let's go back to Grabbers where we can listen to Steel Daddy and actually get a drink." Even the FedEx guy apparently had the same idea.

So, we never saw Barefoot Man play this year. I think we're over it. But what a great view from Grabbers.

Monday, March 3: We had a nice motor sail back to Marsh Harbour and then cleaned, cleaned, cleaned the boat.

Tuesday, March 4: Back to Raleigh for a few weeks!

Abaco in February, Part 4

2008-03-18T10:46:00.009-04:00

Saturday, March 1: On Saturday, a fundraiser was held for Guana Youth Sailing. Everyone joined in to make and sell conch salad and hotdogs,

and sell tee-shirts and hold an auction. Mike got a cool new tee, and we donated to the 50/50 raffle and some games. Their goal was to raise enough money to buy three small sailboats to use to teach the kids on the island how to sail. They ended up raising enough to buy five!

And then the music started again. This is Steel Daddy at Grabbers. I used his music in this video.

Saturdays are also rib nights at Grabbers, and their ribs are excellent!

Here's Mike (and Tony--he's always stealing my chair when I get up from the bar) chilling out with a Sands beer, smelling the ribs on the grill, and listening to some great steel drum music.

Abaco in February, Part 3

2008-03-12T09:40:00.008-04:00

Friday, February 29: Fisher Bay fills up with sailboats as the Barefoot Man/Steel Daddy weekend approaches.

Even the local dogs are ready for the surge of visitors to the island. The changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace has nothing on the changing of the guard at Nippers on Guana Cay.

Abaco in February, Part 2

2008-03-10T10:21:00.009-04:00

I forgot to mention in the last post that we finally got to use the ship's surgical kit several times over the first few days in the Abacos this past trip. Mike acquired a ~~large splinter~~ clove from the dinghy dock in his foot on the first day, and I got to play with a scalpel until I was able to fish out the entire piece after ~~Mike took many shots of whiskey~~ a few days.

Here is what Wikipedia says, "Cloves (Syzygium aromaticum, syn. Eugenia aromaticum or Eugenia caryophyllata) are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae. Cloves are native to Indonesia and dinghy docks in the Abacos and used as a spice in cuisine all over the world."
"The name derives from French clou, a nail, as the buds vaguely resemble small irregular nails in shape. Cloves are harvested primarily in Zanzibar, Indonesia and Madagascar; it is also grown in Pakistan, India, Mike's right foot, and Sri Lanka."

Moving along . . .

Wednesday, February 27: Wednesday was a wet, chilly day, and even the curlytails were hunkered down for quality time together.

Usually, Wednesday nights are pot-luck nights at Grabbers, but it was cancelled at the last moment due to poor weather. Always ~~clueless~~ the rebels, we scrounged up a couple of avocados, tomatoes, and lime and made guacamole for the bar anyway.

Thursday, February 28: The Art Cafe used to be the breakfast place on Guana, but since it closed this winter, breakfast has been hard to find. Nippers picked up the slack for a while, and then Grabbers announced that it would begin serving breakfast the upcoming weekend. So we ate breakfast at Nippers Tuesday-Thursday. Except that instead of "breakfast" (breaking the fast), Nippers, a major party spot, likes to call it "breakfest" (a festival of breaks?).

~~You can take an English teacher to Guana Cay, but you can't take Guana Cay . . . um . . . yeah . . .~~ The first day, Mike ordered this:

. . . which ended up being 3/4 of an Eggo waffle (we were told they kept getting caught in the toaster) . . . without the hashbrowns. The subsequent days, we learned to order food that Jerry actually makes, like the omelet . . . and found it much more worthwhile.

Abaco in February, Part 1

2008-03-05T13:42:00.012-05:00

We're way overdue for an update now that we're back in easy Internet range.

Friday, February 22, we flew back down to Marsh Harbour (by way of Nashville, of course--one of those 5-airport travel days) and landed and cleared at Treasure Cay for our first time before moving on to Marsh. It's a tiny airstrip, but we needed only half of it for landing. I think we used it all for our takeoff. I immediately engaged in Dominoes with some of the locals, and then we moved into town later for some dinner & dancing. As usual, the cabs stopped running long before the bars closed, so we ended up walking home.

Saturday, February 23, I had a very lazy day just getting used to being warm again and back on the boat. Mike went diving with Kay from Above and Below Abaco over to Fowl Cay. He returned with stories of sharks and such, but without any documentation, who would know . . . ? That night, of course, was Steak Night at the Jib Room and was a lot of fun. We were still exhausted from work and travel and turned in pretty early.

Sunday, February 24, we were supposed to sail to Guana, but we decided to relax another day in Marsh and head over Monday.

Monday, February 25, we had a nice sail over to Guana Cay. We originally planned to go on the hook or grab a mooring for most of the week and then move into the marina, but the weather for the next few days didn't look very nice, so we decided to dock when we arrived. Also because of the forecast, we knew it was unlikely we'd get a lot of sailing time in during the week, so we took the opportunity to have a nice meandering sail over. After visiting everyone at Grabbers, we decided to go ahead and rent a golf cart for the entire week, too, not just for the weekend as we were planning.

Tuesday, February 26 was a little blustery, and then the rain began Tuesday night . . . but not before this fellow, Tim, had a chance to get a little fishing in:

That evening we ate at Grabbers, where Erin provided us with a lovely candlelit dinner.

Then we visited Easy at Nippers.

And then the sky opened up.

Back to the Abacos

2008-02-21T10:38:00.006-05:00

Well, tomorrow's the big day--we're back off to the Bahamas first thing in the morning! Today has been hectic already, but I took a few minutes to catch up with the local newspaper. Looks like the same place we left in January.

We have made reservations for a slip for a couple of days at this marina because The Barefoot Man will be doing another sell-out show at Nippers. Of course, last year, we were also there for the show, but after ~~a lot of drinks~~ awhile, we went down to Grabbers, where Eric proposed to Amy with a ~~poisonous~~ bouquet and a ~~bottle opener~~ fancy ring.

We'll keep you updated during this year's trip!

Yum Yum Diving

2008-02-19T08:58:00.004-05:00

Back in December, when Mike and I first decided to begin the whole diving fiasco, Troy informed us of these features on our gear:

Well, at least our masks & snorkels were just clear and black--nice and safe. So to further encourage me to give diving one more try on this upcoming trip, Mike gave me a very ~~considerate~~ interesting gift indeed.

Presenting Sloane's new ~~snorkel~~ excuse for avoiding diving:

Interestingly, a discussion of life insurance came up not long after . . .

Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T09:40:00.004-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

You may recall the pizza pan incident, where you met Vito. If you have a minute, please check out his sister's page.

Observation of the Day

2008-02-12T12:44:00.000-05:00

Food tastes more interesting without the extra leg.
--~~Echo~~ Stumpy

Echo's old food

Echo's new food

(yeah, we think it looks gross, too)

Echo's Monday let's-fight-this-cancer-the-best-we-can meal: leftover salmon frittata, raw liver, barley, seaweed, swiss chard, and carrot casserole with flaxseed, yogurt, sage, olive oil, and turmeric dressing (and maybe a sizeable handful of vitamins & minerals ~~added on top~~ buried very deep, but let's not tell Echo about them).

Game Time

2008-02-06T14:31:00.000-05:00

The last time I posted, I was anxiously awaiting the NC State/Duke basketball game. It went pretty well for a while.

Until we lost the game by 20 points, at which point, I opened a bottle of wine and was struck by a ~~hazy~~ brilliant idea.

We should get tickets for the NC State/Virginia Tech game! Or go to Vermont. We did the first and discussed the latter on the way to the game.

After hiking ~~12 miles~~ awhile, we finally arrived in the RBC Center to see NC State. But first things first. Beer. No, that's right--no beer for college games. So we settled on some ~~ridiculously overpriced junk food~~ top-dollar nutritious fare from the vendors and ~~parked ourselves at the condiments stand~~ found a suitable location to eat.

Mike had an Italian panini, and I had a chicken panini. We shared ~~a very scary thing indeed~~ a California roll ~~with the nearby garbage can~~.

Even after driving to the arena, around the arena, and then 3 miles past the arena, and walking back to the arena, picking up tickets at will call, going through the security screening, walking around the arena, and up to the top level of the arena, and browsing the food vendors and selecting and eating our food, and getting settled in, we find that we're still a few minutes early. Like 25 minutes.

So I spent my time people watching from our ~~laughably bad seats~~ aerial-view seating in the packed arena.

We watched the warmups until just before game time and ~~sang~~ hummed the school song.

Finally, the place really filled up, and the game began.

Slightly off-topic, but we're still ~~gloating~~ proud:

And because I think it's bad mojo to photograph players ~~who are too far away to have faces~~ while they're playing, I'll just summarize and say that it was a very good game, and some of the very players I poked fun at the other day did a nice job. Here's the final score:

Yeah, a little blurry, and I can't even blame beer. I think I was just that rattled from the game. So I tried again.

That would be 73-63 NC State, which extends our winning streak ~~to two games~~ even further.

Like Another Planet

2008-02-04T10:11:00.000-05:00

On my quest to find new crew for the up coming trip back to Marsh Harbour I took a trip to what always seems like another world, NYC. Since this trip was for business, it was very short, but as always, packed with experiences that make you think. On this trip, I had to do some touch up to some steel walls inside an apartment that we had furnished.

I have been doing decorative metal work in NY for the last 25 years, and in that time nothing has changed. The New York minute still takes at least an hour. The wealthy go in the front doors with the grand lobbies, and the workers find a small door around the corner. We drag hundreds of pounds of gear down narrow hallways and into outdated elevators to go up to apartments worth more than most can even imagine. I'm part of an elite group that is trusted to go into this world and work amongst the best that today's world has to offer. Just as the deities of the past had artisans create unique objects of desire, today's wealthy enjoy this same freedom.

My favorite, The Chrysler Building

My Hotel, Beekman Towers. Classic art deco and a great view from the top

This is a temporary art installation in progress. It was a cold morning, and there had to be at least 40 people involved with this.

It just makes you smile.

This is a million dollar painting right next to where I had to work. Don't you think they would have moved it? Don't you think it should have come with non glare glass?
I made them move it!

This girl watched me work. It was okay at first, but it got a little old after a while, so I covered her up.

Picasso--I moved this one myself. Very cool!

It's all in a day's work, but the images and creative energies involved in this type of work have always attracted me. Just like any job, it gives you the ability to make the choices about your life and pursuit of your dreams.

Meet the Team

2008-01-31T12:19:00.000-05:00

In case you've been wondering when this blog will return to being about sailing, I have the answer. It will briefly be about sailing at the end of February, and then again after the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. We really can't leave town during March Madness. College basketball, specifically ACC basketball, is as necessary to life as water. Okay, maybe only to some of us.

I was fortunate enough to begin watching college hoops in the first game of the ACC tournament in 1983. And I lived in Raleigh. And my social studies teacher liked NC State. So I decided to pull for NC State, 4 years before I would end up going to school there.

Within hours, I was hooked. I watched every single NCAA basketball game that I could during March Madness, and then, amazingly, NC State won the National Championship. It took a few more years before I realized that I couldn't expect it to happen every year. But it is time for it to happen again. Of course, we are currently ranked 9th out of 12 in the ACC. But I still think we can do it. We just need fans.

So, let's begin.

Tally your points as you go, one point per "yes" response.

Are you qualified to be an NC State ~~stalker~~ fan?

1. If you see this man, are you willing to squeal like a girl?

2. Would you pick up his tab if you saw him in a bar?

3. Would you refrain from mentioning the recent game against UNC?

Head Coach Sidney Lowe

He was a senior at NCSU when they won the National Championship in 1983. He played in the NBA for several years and then coached in the NBA for 14 years. He has recently returned to his alma mater as the head coach, and I'm thrilled to have him here.

4 & 5. Can you identify this player? This is worth extra points because even Sidney doesn't seem to know him.

Clayton Beard #22, Guard, Freshman

Perhaps he's good. He would have to play in at least one game in order to know.

6. Can you overlook this player's field goal stats and appreciate that he is a solid (83%) free throw shooter?

Brandon Costner, #33, Forward, Redshirt Sophomore

He sat out all but 5 games his freshman year and then got redshirt status due to a stress fracture diagnosed after those games. He played well his redshirt freshman season. He seems a little less impressive this season.

7. Can you say this player's name without making a joke? Or laughing? Or even smiling? (yeah, me neither)

Farnold Degand, #12, Guard, Redshirt Sophomore

He was redshirted as a freshman at Iowa State and was ineligible to play at NCSU his redshirt freshman year. He is out for the remainder of this season with an ACL injury from December.

8. Will you promise to send this player a get-well card? Or at least acknowledge that someone who does isn't totally silly? (ahem.)

Courtney Fells, #4, Guard, Junior

Played very well his sophomore year, but has been struggling with a sprained ankle lately. He is an excellent free throw shooter and one of our best 3-point shooters as well.

9. Can you identify this player without his jacket on?

Trevor Ferguson, #15, Guard, Redshirt Sophomore

He has a goofy past. He signed with the University of Pittsburgh in 2005 but never enrolled for fall classes. He transferred to NC State in the spring of 2006, but was ineligible to play until Spring 2007. This year, he has played for 7 very unimpressive minutes.

10. Can you resist making derogatory comments about this player's inexperience?

Javier Gonzalez, #10, Guard, Freshman

He is recovering from a broken hand. He's a very cautious fellow but is getting a lot of playing time and is improving. He's a decent free throw shooter.

11. Do you promise to let this player's turnovers last year be forgotten?
12. Will you respect that he is now playing his natural position again?
13. And can you talk about his NBA prospects without referring to his turnovers?

Gavin Grant, #11, Forward, Senior

He's got fairly decent stats and is a very reliable starter for us. He had some trouble last year when he was called upon to play point guard and turned over the ball, as even he admitted, "like it was his job to do it." I personally like his leadership. He adds some maturity to our very young team.

14. Would you know this player if you saw him sitting ~~in the stands~~ on the bench?

Simon Harris, #2, Forward, Redshirt Junior

He played a lot for Elon his freshman and sophomore years and was ineligible to play for NCSU his junior year. This year, he hasn't played very much and hasn't made much of an impression on me either way.

15. If you are a female, would you be willing to have this player's child? If you are a male, would you ~~allow~~ encourage your wife or girlfriend (or sister or mother) to have his child?

16. Would you be willing to secretly bribe this player to stay at NC State if when the NBA tries to get him to leave early?

J.J. Hickson, #1, Forward/Center, Freshman

(Those are my kissy marks on his face.) I love this guy. He's been named ACC Rookie of the Week three times this season so far. He has fantastic leadership for a freshman and is really special to watch.

17. Are you willing to stay up to watch NC State games that go on past the bedtime of one of the players?

Dennis Horner, #31, Forward, Sophomore

He played well his freshman year, but has been struggling with a sprained ankle lately. I'm not thrilled when he comes in, but I'm not completely dismayed either.

18. Are you willing to give this player the benefit of the doubt a little while longer, even though you may be 99% sure that he is being bought off by Roy Williams?

Marques Johnson, #13, Guard, Sophomore

He transferred to NCSU in Spring 2007 and became eligible to play this spring. His stats are scary, and I sometimes wonder whose team he's really on.

(Perhaps this is good time to mention that I really didn't think much of Michael Jordan when he was an underclassman. I may not be the very best analyst--just one of the most opinionated.)

19. Are you willing to let good players rest on their laurels for short periods while they are injured?

Ben McCauley, #34, Forward/Center, Junior

He played very well his sophomore year, but this year seems a little confused by the addition of Hickson on the floor. He has been nursing a twisted ankle for a couple of weeks.

20. Are you willing to accept that just because one recruit from Detroit is very iffy (Beard), not all recruits from Detroit are?

Tracy Smith, #23, Forward, Freshman

I have mixed feelings about this fellow. He hasn't seen a lot of action, and he's been unpredictable when he has. He really needs to work on his free throws. I think he's got some potential as he gains more confidence and experience.

21. Can you be patient and wait while a great recruit heals during what would have been his first season?

Johnny Thomas, #30, Guard/Forward, Freshman

He's been out all season with a knee injury. Check back next year.

22. Can you accept that your team has a senior that no one has ever heard of?

Chad Williams, #25, Guard, Senior

He was an NCSU student for two years before joining the team his junior year. He played in one game that year and has played for two minutes in one game this year. Nothing happened for or against him in those two minutes.

23. Are you willing to believe in your team even when no one else does?

Tonight is very important because we are playing Duke. At Duke. No one thinks we'll win, but I always believe it's possible. Even if we're down, as we recently were against UNC, 30 points at the half, I am always still ~~naively~~ optimistically sure that we can win.

24. Can you always create a logical argument about why your team could win?

25. Do you promise to ~~obsess on~~ follow the rankings and use them to justify which teams (other than your own, of course!) you would like to win?

We did knock Duke out of the ACC Tournament last year, which was the last time we played each other. If we win tonight, we will move from 9th in the ACC to 6th. Just. Like. That. And then we wouldn't be so far from 5th, and then 4th, etc. And if Boston College loses to UNC tonight, we will move straight from 9th to 5th in the ACC.

26. Do you, therefore, agree to root for UNC in their game tonight?

If you scored . . .

25-26 points, you are my kind of ~~stalker~~ fan! Welcome to our world!

20-24 points, I will let you sit next to me while I watch NC State games.

15-19 points, I will let you sit next to me while I watch non-NC State games and will give you a tutorial about how to become a better NC State fan.

10-14 points, your name is probably Chip, and you should remain a UNC fan. We don't need your type.

below 10 points, you will probably have a great time watching Superbowl pregame shows, oblivious to the fact that there are great ACC games earlier that day.

So, I will gather with all of the other local NC State fans to watch the game tonight. This is me with all of my fellow NC State fans at the beginning of the NC State/UNC game a couple of weeks ago:

Go Wolfpack!

Making Tracks

2008-01-29T13:56:00.000-05:00

Several of you have asked about Echo's progress over the past couple of weeks, so here's an update.

Echo had his right ~~arm (front leg)~~ forelimb removed at the shoulder on Tuesday, January 15. He came home to us on Friday, January 18, very drugged and helpless, but moving around a few (slow!) steps at a time. We noticed that much of his trouble came from difficulty walking without sliding on the hardwood floors and negotiating the stairs.

Two weeks later, however, Echo is now quite adept at handing the stairs, and we made him ~~fashionable~~ functional non-skid booties to resolve the hardwood floor issue.

Yesterday, we returned to the surgeon, where ~~Echo expectantly waited to have his leg returned~~ ~~worried what they would cut off next~~ Echo's staples were removed, and we consulted with the oncologist about his future treatment. The pathology report from the amputated leg confirmed osteosarcoma, and his lymph nodes were free of osteosarcoma . . . which would sound like good news, but they found signs of a metastatic mast cell tumor in his lymph nodes. So . . . since that wasn't what they were expecting at all, they have asked another pathologist ~~to try to make sense of it~~ for a do-over.

Echo is off of most of his meds, and we are down to just this in Echo's little corner of the counter:

Elisha made the cookies for him and brought them over this weekend. I have them sitting with the medicines because they contain ~~crack~~ peanuts and he enjoys getting ~~crack~~ peanuts with his medicines.

And, because he ~~has been eying our favorite rug that's off-limits for years~~ was so drugged when he came home, Echo chose a new bed.

So, that's all we know right now. Echo is spending most of his time sleeping, wondering when the goofy booties will come off, and being bribed with ~~crack~~ peanut cookies.

Hair (the non-musical)

2008-01-26T09:51:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to Sentimental Saturday. Today we're talking about hair. Yes, hair. Specifically, my (Sloane's) hair. And that makes ~~no sense at all~~ complete sense for Sentimental Saturday, because it is currently going gray, and I miss my non-gray hair.

So, I began hunting for photos of what my hair used to look like. And then I began trying to find at least one where my hair looked sort of almost like a normal head of hair. And then I found that I have much, much bigger problems than gray hair. I have bad hair. Apparently, I always have. I was just blissfully unaware.

Let's take a look.

Here's my beach hair.
I now know that this was the
best my hair would ever look.

I used to think my mother always cut our heads
off in pictures because she was ~~a bad~~ an amateur
photographer. I now realize that she was trying to
protect me from the truth about my hair.

Getting that one strand in the barrette with all
of the rest of the hair was just too much to ask.

So then I tried "wings." Ouch.

These are my "wings" all grown up and trailer-parky. That fuzzy looking contrasting collar on the jacket is actually part of my hair.

This is my hair for a formal dance. I paid someone to do this. I've never been sure exactly where my head stops and the wall begins. But I knew it was best to cover that head up.

This is my hair ~~on drugs~~ permed when I started college.

The chia-pet "do" was my first attempt to look professional. Someone actually hired me ~~to rob a bank~~ ~~do a music video~~ to teach.

This is how I wore my hair for many years.
I found that it highlighted my nose best that way.
Even this decade, I still have trouble getting all
of the hair to be at the same place at once.

~~Completely~~ Slightly off-topic:
Is it just me or does it look like someone
Photoshopped my face into the picture?

What split ends?

Mike bought me a hairdryer.
For Christmas.
So perhaps I might actually style my hair.

Of course, with the hairdryer, we're back to all
of the hair heading in different directions at once.

Now I also understand why Mike laughed so hard
when I told him to retake this picture because
I thought maybe my hair wasn't quite right.

This is our wedding rehearsal.
It's just a ponytail--
it's not supposed to be rocket science.

For our wedding reception, I chose to
wear ~~a furry brown cap~~ an updo.

Stylin' the "hairicane."

What? Is there something weird about
having only 5 strands of hair in a set of bangs?
And after tucking hair behind my ears for half my life,
shouldn't I pretty much be able to do it by now?

Here I am imitating a unicorn.

I wear my bed head out in public.

This was taken in the beginning of the day.

I styled my hair like this on purpose.

To go out in public.

So, what to do with my new realization? I've decided to start all over again.

Back to this:

What do you think?

Time for Recess

2008-01-24T10:41:00.000-05:00

Sailing, boccie ball, snorkeling, and card games aren't my only high-energy sports. I also occasionally throw darts. One recent evening, I asked a few people to play a boys-against-girls dart game. Corralling them to begin was a bit of a trick.

But once we begin to play, everyone is having a good time.

Everyone, that is, except for the people trying to walk around when I'm throwing darts . . . because I don't change my rhythm for anyone. Not even my teammates.

I soon find I have about the same level of ability in this sport as I do in diving.

Therefore, although flower girl Kathryn is holding her own against the men, I quickly try to undo my "next round's on us if we lose" bet.

The result? They didn't even realize there was a bet until I said something. But we all continue to enjoy ourselves.
Close to the end, Kathryn and I find ourselves three darts behind. We huddle for a team discussion regarding how ~~I needed to get my act together and throw at least one good dart~~ best to approach the tight game. I console Kathryn by telling her that I will do much better on my next turn.

She counsels me to attempt to throw the darts a little higher, ideally somewhere in the vicinity of the dartboard. Her coaching works, sort of.

And that pretty much closes the game . . .

So, once again, I had to remind myself that it's not about winning or losing, but about the cardiovascular benefits of strenuous exercise.

Winter Storm

2008-01-22T10:33:00.000-05:00

In lieu of Mike Monday, here are our snow pictures from the weekend. After the Winter Storm Warnings were issued, there were hundreds of closings, the stores were mobbed beforehand for bread and milk, and everyone hunkered down Friday night and all of Saturday in anticipation of this:

Trust me, that white haze on the ~~grass~~ weeds is honest-to-God snow.

The ~~flurries~~ Winter Storm wreaked its fury for almost an entire 20 minutes Saturday afternoon.

Victims of cabin fever after the extended ~~time spent watching college basketball and lounging by the fire~~ onslaught of foul weather, we finally made our way through the blizzard to seek the company of other brave souls.

(so daring to wear suede in a squall)

The band at Slim's canceled due to ~~silliness~~ inclement weather, so we visited The Raleigh Times and wandered up to Snoopy's for a ~~hearty bowl of stew~~ "Snoopy Dog."

We bid our cab driver goodnight and cautioned him to beware the treacherous driving conditions. After ~~falling out of the cab laughing~~ thanking us for our thoughtfulness, he disappeared into the tempest, and our party disintegrated on the sidewalk, just as the ~~many~~ 18 snowflakes would do the following day.