Life continues to be busy. We have a new faucet and new solar panels! We are waiting to give the frame a little more reinforcement but are on schedule to get the canvas done.
It is kind of funny to be a girly-girl living this lifestyle. I'm channeling my hippie-chick and tom-boy. It's helping. I have three pairs of shoes: crocks, flip-flops and trail running shoes. ( I have to admit...I wish I had one pair of girly sandals and one pair of high heels). I do wear dresses to dinner if we go out, but usually with wet hair freshly out of the shower. Most days I'm in a tank, shorts, crocks and a baseball cap. Who could have imagined??!! :)
So...here are some shots of the boat projects:
The new faucet. It flexes to bend and move almost any way you need it to go and the nozzle moves, as well. I love it!
(It was totally worth two trips to Home Depot and Lopez Marine to get all the parts!)
(Mike picking out the right parts)
The solar panels are not finished but there's been a lot of progress:
From no bimini
To an arch with two solar panels
To an arch with all four solar panels.
Mike is a bit worried that the weight is going to be too much for the boat. I suggested that he offset the weight by installing an air conditioner in the forward berth which will use up some of that wattage supplied by the panels. WIN-WIN! We'll see if he goes for it.
Now all we need is a little reinforcement of the arch and the canvas and Mike to install the wiring and the controllers. Fun with a capital F! (and other f-words)
This is how Mike has to position himself in order to work on the wiring. He's basically under the cockpit. Not a lot of air or room. He calls it "monkey engineering"
Thus, I hand him tools, help him cool off and stay hydrated and assist him in getting up and out so he can enjoy this:
and this:
We went to the Instituto Sudcaliforniano de Cultura Escuela de Música del Estado for a concert on Monday night. I wrote a little bit about it on my Facebook Page, but it was an outstanding evening. We went with Nancy from Shindig and her sister Elaine who flew in with her husband from Sacramento. The performers were truly amazing and I learned of a new jazz composer, Claude Bolling. He is a French composer, pianist and apparently occasional actor. I loved his music! It was a conglomeration of Handel, Bernstein, Beethoven, Chopin, Pärt and traditional jazz. The soloists (trumpet first, playing "Toot Suite" followed by violin) had to be masterful in classical and jazz styles. Each suite had five movements, and in the trumpet composition, he used 5 different sizes of trumpets.
This is the hall:
Many cruisers are involved in organizing and teaching at the music school. Nancy, our friend from Shindig, is playing piano for the concertmaster at the school so he can work on audition pieces for college and also playing cello in the concerts. (I was selling her on Lamont). It would be so easy to plug in there and never leave. I have been keeping a low profile for that very reason. I quit the job I loved to do this sailing thing!
So...we are well. Hot, happy, tired, thinner, and busy. I thought I'd have a lot of time to write and sing while down here. I sing in the shower for fun. I am very happy with the acoustics in the showers. :-) Otherwise, I even have to sit myself down to blog. I did submit a workshop proposal for The Voice Foundation Conference next June. I need to stay plugged in, somewhat.
Last night I was singing and all of a sudden I spotted two large pairs of antennae of the cockroaches hiding in the doorframe. I think I'm developing a following. I came out of the baño and asked Mike if he could hear me singing. He laughed and said "The entire marina could hear you!" Gulp. Well...I haven't gotten any complaints yet. HA!
First Mate Kate and Captain Mike