Nurse, Scalpel Please

Yesterday, exactly one week after the accident, I had an appointment at The Indiana Hand Center in Indianapolis. The physicians at the Center have an excellent reputation and this is where I wanted to be seen – and seen I was. I will make a long story short because I can still only type in the hunt & peck method:

Good news first…the finger re-attachment has taken wonderfully and it appears that I will be able to recover full feeling, sensation and use of my finger.

Now the not so good news…I will be having finger surgery tomorrow, Friday, February 1st at the crack of dawn in Indy. This is needed to repair the nail bed and to set the broken finger bone with a pin. Sounds like I will not be knitting or line handling for quite some time.

Back to Indiana

See, it did not take me too long before I was able to get back to the computer - I am actually typing this message in the old fashioned two fingered hunt-and peck method…

Today my follow up visit to Dr Cockrell in Mobile had very good news. The finger looks “nice and pink”. I have feeling in the re-attached finger tip and overall “all is progressing nicely – all things considered”. He wants me to be seen either by him or a doctor of my choice within the next week so that the finger can be monitored. Captain Mark and I were taught how to clean and twice daily change the wound dressing.

Personally, I thought the finger looked wonderful and I was elated that I had sensation in the finger. My pointer and middle fingers were also badly bruised and I am very lucky that they were not severed as well.

We have agreed to go home to Indiana to seek medical care. Mark also feels that I would relax better “at home”. We will follow up with a hand specialist either in Indy or Chicago.

Why is the Captain Writing This Today Or Where Is the Nearest Hospital?

On Wednesday, January 23rd , the weather got a bit better here in Mobile. The sun sort of came out and the temperature was in the 60s. I spent most of the day checking out the generator and cleaning the bilge area after the work that had been done while we were in Indiana. Linda, of course, was on the PC all day. About 3p the mechanic from Middleton Marina came by to perform the sea trial to ensure that all replaced filters are working fine and not leaking under real cruising conditions. We pulled out of the slip and headed out to the Bay. It felt good to have the boat moving again and be on the water, even if it was only five feet deep at times. The Bay is low currently with the full moon and sustained north winds. The boat checked out fine and we turned back toward Dog River.

This was the first time that I had docked when we had lines to pick up on the forward pilings. As I backed in I paused so Linda and Glenn (the mechanic) could grab the bow lines, then I continued backing in. With the bow secure, Linda then went aft to secure the stern lines. I was only able to get the boat back far enough so that the stern lines just reached the cleats on the boat. The boat was bouncing around a bit as well at this time. As I went from the helm to the stern to assist Linda, I heard her say, rather matter–of-factly “I broke my finger”. I secured the last line for her as she went inside to calmly remove her wedding ring and apply a dishtowel compress to her left hand. When she came back out I saw that this was not just a ‘broken finger’.

Now I must mention here that whenever anyone new will be handling the lines, the first thing Linda tells them is to NEVER get one’s hand between the line and the cleat. As you have guessed, this is exactly what happened when Linda “broke her finger”. As she opened the towel I could see that the tip of her ring finger on her left hand was about 90% severed, from just below the nail to the end. A small amount of skin on the palm side of the finger was still attached. To me, this is not a “broken finger”. Needless to say, we asked anyone around where the nearest hospital was, and took off quickly. When in the truck Linda quietly turned on the Garmin NUVI GPS and asked her (NUVI) to take us to the hospital, which she did. NUVI performed well, thankfully, as I never would have found the hospital by myself.

During the trip Linda was in extremely good spirits and felt little pain. Isn’t shock a good thing? She even joked about getting a discount on future manicures. I will confess that if this had been me, as soon as I saw my finger hanging by a thread I would have passed out, fallen off the boat and drowned. She just sat in the truck holding her finger tip in place and commenting on the houses we passed.

The Mobile Infirmary staff was wonderful and got her seen quickly. An orthopedic doctor was called in and the nursing staff kept us in good spirits as we waited for him. However, as people were now looking at her finger and moving it around, the blood and pain increased. Still, Linda was calmer than I was. The original ER Doc was very pessimistic about Linda’s chances of keeping the finger tip, but the ortho doc gave her at least a 50% chance of viability. The thought of losing the finger did finally sink in I think, and Linda began to tear up a bit.

The ortho doctor sewed the finger back on. This included taking off her fingernail, but the nail should grow back if the attachment is successful. The determining factor in keeping the finger tip will be how badly the soft tissue was damaged. We should know tomorrow (Friday) when we see the doctor for follow up care. We are remaining optimistic. According to Linda, the tetanus and antibiotic shots hurt as much as the finger. We left the hospital with prescriptions for a good painkiller and antibiotics. By the time we got back to the boat Linda was again in good spirits, aided somewhat, maybe, by the pills.

This accident just reinforces the idea that boating accidents can happen to even a very experienced person. Linda has handled thousands of lines over eight years without incident. There is an old adage that no one is a true sailor until they have a tattoo or missing digits. I will be getting my tattoo soon! Depending on the outcome of Linda’s follow up appointment and/or necessary physical therapy, we will probably go home for a few weeks. I am sure no matter the outcome, Linda will find a way to knit and work on the computer when all is done. We will resume the trip in mid to late February. At least it should be warmer then.

I must say that the folks here at Dog River are to be commended. They called to check on Linda several times through the night and again this morning. They also cleaned all the blood on the boat (there was quite a lot) and got the boat plugged back into shore power and otherwise set, while we were at the hospital. It was good to come back to a clean boat.

To TV or Not To TV

Yes, that is the question that has plagued us ever since we decided to live on the boat. The problem is really two fold. First, Captain Mark and I fundamentally differ in our thoughts and approach to television. I truly can take or leave television. I do not “need” the background noise of constantly having the set turned on nor do I particularly care to watch most television shows. I will admit, however, that if the television set is turned on, I will watch it and I do get involved with certain programs. What I have found is that most television shows (like Lost or Dancing with the Stars) can either be “watched” online after the original broadcast or will eventually be available via Netflix. If it is a program that I truly enjoy and want to watch, I much prefer to wait and watch the entire series consecutively via Netflix without commercials.

NOW, Captain Mark on the other hand has a serious television addiction. He must have the set turned on at all times. When we purchased the television set for the boat, it HAD to be a flat screen with high definition. Only the top of the line was acceptable. My idea of the perfect use for a television set is for watching movies and this is why I thought we purchased this particular model of television set.

When we are in some harbors cable television is provided and of course, we had to purchase a high def cable cord for those times. HOWEVER, most of the time cable is not available to us.



Captain Mark does the silliest thing ever – he attaches those old fashioned rabbit ears to the back of this super-duper TV set, puts the rabbit ears outside and on top of the boat. Then he wiggles the rabbit ears in an attempt to capture whatever channel he can find. NEVER, has the picture on the captured channel come in clearly nor has the sound been anything worth listening to, but nonetheless, Captain Mark is able to “watch TV”. I have witnessed him sitting in front of the television screen full of blurry squiggly lines with garbled “noise” pretending to be dialogue. All the while Mark is claiming that he can “see (the program or most likely, the basketball game) just fine”. This drives me absolutely crazy – either watch the set the way it was intended to be watched OR turn it off!



We have debated and debated the TV issue for months. The real heart of the matter comes down to what would make living on the boat the most enjoyable for all concerned. The satellite systems are very expensive, but then EVERYTHING for a boat is very expensive. Mark always uses the cost as the determining factor, while I maintain an elitist/purist attitude toward not having a “squawk box” aboard. But hey if Captain Mark wants to watch Judge Judy and it makes him happy, then maybe it is something to seriously consider.

Mittens for the Wunder Kids

As most of you know, I just love to knit and knit and knit some more. I do truly love to make mittens for the Wunder Kids each year and I take my grandmotherly mitten duty very seriously. I faithfully abide by the rules set by daughter Samantha, mother of the Wunder Kids, in that I must make AT LEAST 36 mittens each year. These mittens must all be the same size and color so that they will coordinate with the winter wear of two boys and one girl – nothing too feminine – crayon colors only, please. These mittens must be warm, must be able to dry quickly after serious snow episodes and must be plentiful in number (as stated above). As each of the Wunder Kids is eleven months apart and are currently ages 8, 9, and 10, getting them ready and out the door for school in a timely fashion can often be a major feat. This is why the mittens must be all the same color, size and within easy reach of the door for a speedy departure.

As the Wunder Kids live in the frozen tundra of Indiana, I made sure that 12 mittens were sent “north” in October so that their little hands would not freeze off before I could get the remainder of the mittens to them at Christmas time when we returned home for the holidays. What I was not prepared for was the fact that the mittens would become DOG FOOD once they reached the home of the Wunder Kids. While we were merrily chatting at the holiday time, I casually asked how the mittens were working out and if they seemed to be the correct size…Daughter/Mother Sam says “Oh hey Mom, you may need to make more mittens this year as Athena (THE DOG) ate a couple of them.” I was dumbstruck – THE DOG ATE THEM – this statement coming from our firstborn and a teacher at that – THE DOG ATE THEM !!

I could hardly believe my ears…I called Wunder Kid Madeline for confirmation and while Miss Madeline did not want to get Athena (THE DOG) in trouble or upset her Grandmother, she shyly admitted that “maybe Athena had eaten one or two but the mittens were very nice this year, Grandma”.


As the weather has turned colder and is now below zero in the Indiana tundra, I have been bombarded with emails and even a comment on Monday’s blog about three little children who have no mittens…I want to assure everyone that despite the fact that Athena (THE DOG) seems to savor and seek out navy blue mittens as an afternoon treat, I will indeed be sending another batch of mittens to the Wunder Kids. It is my sincere hope that either Athena (THE DOG) is kept in her cage when the mittens are left to dry on the registers or that SOMEONE puts the wet mittens in the dryer to dry so that this next batch may last a little longer than the first batch. As a grandmother, I will always continue to knit and knit and knit some more so that little hands may stay warm in Indiana.

We will be here a while so let’s talk Blog

Well, it looks like we are going to be here in Mobile for a while – at least another week. The weather is predicted to turn COLD, rainy and downright nasty. Now I know that our friends and family back in the Midwest as truly freezing with temperatures below zero, but down here temperatures in the 20s and 30s are determined as hazardous to one’s health. I guess it is all relative…We are safe and warm inside the boat, so we are just fine.

Secondly, with the winds coming from the north and at this particular time during the moon cycle, the water levels in the area are exceedingly low. Even if the weather was better, we are not sure that we could leave our slip due to the low waters. What I have found interesting is that when the winds blow from the north, the water in Mobile Bay is literally blown out into the Gulf. So in addition to awaiting southerly winds for the warmth, we need the southerly winds to bring the water back into Mobile Bay.

So, with all that being said, let’s talk about the blog. I have noticed that we have had very few comments left on our blog. I was not sure why this was happening because many of you email or call us to let us know that you are following the blog.


In order to discover why no one was leaving comments, I turned to Sage Terry, aka The Reunion Queen, for the answer to this question. She (and others) stated that it was “just too hard to leave comments because Blogger made it too difficult” for them to do so. I pondered this and did some Blogger research and called Terry back for some serious in depth study of the situation. From what I can gather, Terry and others have been trying to leave comments via our email address link which is located on the left hand side of the blog. If one tries to use that area, yes indeedy, Blogger does make the task of leaving a comment very difficult.

HOWEVER, if one uses the “COMMENTS” area (highlighted in blue) at the end of each blog entry, then it is very easy to leave comments for us. All one has to do is select the COMMENTS area and then another page will open where you can type your comments. If you have a gmail or Blogger id, you may use that identity if you wish but if you do not, then just select “anonymous” as your identity. Please leave your comment followed by a signature (first name) or initials so that we will know who the message is from. The comment will be visible to all who read the blog. Many times when I read other people’s blogs, the comments are more fun and interesting than the actual blog content. Since we have many clever, funny and inventive friends, I am sure that the comment potential for our blog is endless. I totally welcome your comments and suggestions.

In addition, if at any time you wish to see a picture in a larger view, simply double click the picture. It will then open in another window so that you may view the details better. If anyone is still having difficulty leaving a comment, please just give me a call or send me an email and I will call you to talk you through the process. It is our hope that you all are finding the blog to be interesting and will continue to follow our adventures.

Getting Settled In: After

For me the trick to good organization is in removing as much of the packaging as possible. Moisturizer and deodorant store very nicely without all that bulky cardboard. The same is true of Ziploc bags, Bounce sheets and just about everything else. We have also been told that when we get the warmer climate in the Caribbean that nasty little bugs like to eat the glue that holds cardboard together. With that image in mind, I did all that I could to eliminate as much cardboard as I could.




As I am perpetually starting a diet, I put serving size portions into snack size Ziploc baggies, then I store these bags in a gallon size bag which holds them all together in a neat and tidy manner. Old peanut butter and mayonnaise jars are the perfect “canisters” for condiments. This is a cheap way to get containers and re-cycle at the same time.


The only tricky part was to find a way to store the glass canning jars so that they would not break when we are in high seas. I stored the jars back in the original canning jar boxes (which I know will deteriorate in time). Then I padded the jars with the extra towels that I store in our deck box.

Please note the port-hole covers – YEP, they are Poppin Fresh Pie pans. We really had a hard time finding port-hole covers and when we did, they were just way too expensive for me to purchase. These covers work just fine for those times when I am not making a pie.

Wine bottles are stored under the back deck in Styrofoam wine cases. This protects the wine bottles as much as possible and keeps the wine cool as this part of the boat is underwater. Of course, box wine stores the easiest. After having done exhaustive research, I have found that Target sells the best wine in a box. So if one must drink wine from a box, Target is the place to go.

Also, please note that all yarn is stored out of sight and that no matter what Captain Mark says, I brought just the right amount of yarn aboard. So my motto is confirmed: all things have a place and a dual purpose aboard The Lolligag.

Getting Settled In: Before

Yesterday and today have been pretty much clones of each other. Each day we got up and headed to our closest IHOP. We had breakfast at IHOP because I had coupons for “buy one, get one free” breakfast meals and I was not going to waste those precious coupons. I really do like IHOP, the new ones anyway. The older ones need some major cleaning or remodeling. AND besides the IHOP was on our way to my favorite store.


I was in search of organizing supplies, namely medium sized plastic containers that would fit in the various cubby-holes of the boat that I had not already filled with yarn. I was successful in my search, so it was back to the boat to put everything in its place. People constantly ask me how we can live on such a little boat and why our boat is not cluttered looking. I just smile and say that “less is more at this point in my life” and Captain Mark comments that I am the queen of organization. I do truly believe that there is a place for everything and that everything should be in its place.






With that thought in mind, I must tell you what I did when we were home for the holidays. My sister, Lisa, works for CVS and once a year they have a family & friends sale whereby we get an additional 30% off whatever we purchase. As Mark and I have already experienced the trauma of being out of shampoo and having to pay $6.00 a bottle for Prell (that we knew had been on the shelves of the marina store for at least four years) I decided that I would stock up on everything that we might need for the next six months that I could purchase at CVS.






In addition I canned 6 quarts of chili, 12 pints of spaghetti sauce and 8 pints of sloppy joes. My task was to find places for all of these things in an organized and orderly fashion – Captain Mark was convinced that I would never be able to find places for “all this stuff”. Tomorrow I will show evidence that everything on the boat must serve at least two purposes and must have its own place to reside.

Captain’s Log: Star date: January 12, 2008

At the end of each four week period (28 days) Captain Mark will give me the following statistics to post. However this Captain’s Log entry will be a little different. Since we were in Indiana for the last two months, I decided to include the statistics up to our return to Mobile.

To make the entry of these mundane and anal facts more interesting, please remember that this is the time to note Captain Mark’s ponytail. Our goal here is to determine if there is a correlation between the amount of fuel consumed and how quickly the ponytail grows. Please share your thoughts.

On The Road Again

We packed and packed and packed some more until the pick-em-up truck could hold no more. And once again we looked like the Clampetts on the move. Before leaving Indiana, we had to stop at our new favorite restaurant (The Corner Café) for breakfast. There we met our neighbor, Mr Moore, and filled our tummies with wonderful vittles to ready us for our trip south. After departure and within in two hours I was fast asleep, leaving Captain Mark totally in charge of getting us to Mobile. This he did just fine – but then all he had to do was stay on I-65 until it stopped. (Side fact: we have now traveled the entire length of I-65 as it starts in Gary, Indiana and ends in Mobile.) We passed through Kentucky, Tennessee and into Alabama with clear skies and bright sunshine. The further south we drove, the warmer the day became.





I did wake up from time to time so that I could knit and listen to Stephanie Plum’s adventures. In route, we finished two of her books (abridged, which I prefer not to listen to but it was the only way we could get them in audio) and then we started listening to Charlie Wilson’s War.
Over the holiday we saw the movie, starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman and thoroughly enjoyed the movie, so we thought we should also read (listen to) the book. So far it is excellent. I would recommend the book as well as the movie.

Never having seen a rocket before, we wanted to stop at this particular rest stop just as one enters Alabama. This is a real rocket and it was really cool to be so up close and personal to the display which is right out in the open along I-65.

Before making this trip, I can honestly say that I had never given much thought to the state of Alabama before, but I have become quite taken with the state. It is hilly and rolling much like southern Indiana, but the weather has been nearly perfect during our stay last fall and now again in January. The people and the food are both fantastic.

We arrived at Dog River Marina about 9:30p and the boat looked wonderful from the outside. When we entered the boat however, we were quite surprised to find that a sandstorm had taken place inside the boat during our departure. The salon area was covered with a medium thick layer of sand and grit. It appears that while the work was being done on the boat, the winds picked up and blew all of the sand in southern Alabama into our boat. Everything was gritty and filthy beyond belief. The contractors had not even attempted to clean up after completing the work. Not exactly what we were looking forward to after driving for twelve hours. However, once adrenaline kicked in, we did what we needed to do. We spent the next three hours cleaning the inside of the boat before completely collapsing into a real deserved sleep.