Our finances while on the trip: I am handling it all electronically via the internet. The only bills that we have are the utilities for the Indiana house and whatever expenses we incur along the way which we usually charge to our American Express card. Our bank will issue checks for us at no charge for the few times when I actually have to write a check. So far this has worked wonderfully as long as I am able to get an Internet signal. This has not been a lot of the time, but I do seem to find a signal when a bill is due – luckily. The only bill that I can not pay electronically is the water bill for the Indiana house, so I have just overpaid it for a while to build up a credit that should carry us for a while.
Our mail: Surprisingly, when you have no bills, you don’t get very much mail. We do not receive many magazines, but the few we do receive are mailed to the Indiana house. Our neighbor gets our mail each day and puts it in a box for our return. Most of the stuff we receive is junk mail anyway so it can wait until we get home. If something important is being sent to us, we usually know about it in advance and we ask that our neighbor forward it to us at some point along the route.
Who is taking care of the Indiana house: Actually, several people are helping us with this. We have a housekeeper who comes on a regular basis to clean and check to make sure that all is well with the house. Our neighbor gets our mail. Another friend/neighbor is also our interior carpenter/contractor and since the house will never be completely finished, Rob is set for life with jobs at our house thereby allowing him to check on things for us also.
Who are the Wunder Kids and why do they need so many mittens: We have four grandchildren all from the same family. The last three children were born eleven months apart and were collectively known as “the babies” until quite recently. They are now 10, 9, and 8 and rightly so became upset at being called “the babies”. A friend of mine once referred to them as the Wunder Kids (thanks Paula) and so I adopted the name as a way to refer to them collectively without insulting them. Now the reason that they need so many mittens is that mittens, in their home, are treated as disposable items. They seem to disappear as quickly as I can make them and no one ever seems to know what happens to them. Our daughter Sam, their mother, has decreed that mittens must be the same size and color and that I should never even think about making less than 36 mittens per season. If, after all the mittens are done, and only then, am I allowed to make them matching hats and scarves. To date, I have 12 mittens completed and they will soon be their way to the home of the Wunder Kids.
How is it living in a small confined space 24/7: For the most part, I think we would both agree that it has been easier than either of us thought it would be… Basically we have been living on the boat since May of this year so we had plenty of time before we left Chicago to outfit the boat with what we thought we would need for the trip, so we are fine with our choice of creatures comforts. Being retired and together 24/7 has probably been more of an adjustment than the actual living on the boat. But having a mission and goal has kept us focused and our days probably fuller than they would have been if we had just retired to our home in Indiana.How and what is Mark eating: As I have mentioned, Mark is a very finicky eater but I must say that we are eating quite well. In our little refrigerator freezer, I was able to stuff 8 filets, 8 salmon steaks, 12 hamburger patties and 6 chicken breasts when we left Chicago. We are still eating from this frozen stock as well as supplementing with fresh lunch meats, vegetables and dairy products which we purchase along the way. We also have a ton (no kidding) of canned stews and meats in our pantry. The one area that we have changed is that neither of us are drinking as much pop (soda) as we did on land. Mostly I have been drinking lemonade and Mark drinks home brewed iced tea.
More stuff about the rendezvous: I forgot to mention that 76 boats were present and that there were approximately 250 people in attendance. One of the coolest incentives is that many of the marinas offer multiple overnight stays free of charge if one purchases 100 gallons or more of fuel.Messages for the folks back home:
To DTLB aka LBB: Since you are the only one to have booked your flight to join us in the Bahamas this is what you will find when you arrive. We will have a wonderful time! Can’t wait!
To Terry, my gardener and Soul Sister: Here is a picture of one of the kinds of grass that I would like at the Indiana house. Can't wait to see you and Will in Florida when we get there.
To Bob and Maryann: We met the people who own this Sabre and they have traveled 13,000 nautical miles since purchasing it. It looks like yours but it is blue instead of green. Also, I do think that they may have actually eaten on their boat a time or two… Did you get that new boat at the FL boat show last week? Inquiring minds…
To Kathie and Lee: Love to the kids from Mark and me. Each time I find a pet shop I ask if they carry Scooter’s Friends line of doggie wear!
Nancy & Jim and Eleanor & Harold: I am not going to publish anything that will get you in trouble with your mom this time…just hugs and kisses XOXOXO Thanks for the cute and entertaining emails – keep em coming.
Marinda: Please don’t forget to send me what I asked you to send me…if you forgot, call me…times a wasting!
Sam: After spending time in Aberdeen, I now totally agree with you in that you were born in the wrong era – you should have been born a hundred and fifty years earlier. The town was made for you. There is a house waiting for you that I know that you and Michael would love. It has your name written all over it.
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