Red-Handed Jill

It's a very small foyer... Also, keep in mind that for red paint, you'll need at least three coats, probably more - trust me on this one. The curtains sound great! Be sure to post pics when you're squared away!

Try Kelly Moore claret - that's what the foyer to our bedroom is painted and it's a terrific shade of red.

It's always pretty choppy under the bridge, but Aldebaran handles it a lot more easily than La Sirena. This was our second offshore trip sailing on her. And in an amusing story about tipping the boat over, at last year's NorCal festival, we were trying to get Aldebaran out of the Vallejo marina but the tide was pretty low and they hadn't dredged it. So we got stuck. Captain Hayden asked everyone on board to run to one side and then the other to see if we could tilt the boat enough to get it out of the mud. This was right after the POTC3 movie, so we couldn't help but laugh about the similarity in moments.

I didn't take my camera, but Jack did and so did Captain Hayden's wife Fern. As soon as I can get my mitts on 'em I'll post some.

Got my sketchbook - a lovely red-covered one. And I started my preliminary sketches for the embroidery pieces and drawings. Geez it's been awhile since I've worked with watercolours. This will show - sorry!

Due to some unexpected weather, we cut our trip a few days short. It was still quite an adventure, though. We sailed out to about fifty miles from shore but had to detour to Monterey in over 30 knot winds and swells like you wouldn't believe. We also saw some grey whales and some dalls porpoises, which surfed on our bow for several minutes. In Monterey, we ran into some folks on racing yachts who had come up from Long Beach and they said that the weather was almost as bad all the way down the coast and that they almost turned back. And it looked like this weather system was headed south, so we'd never get out of it. So we stayed at Monterey for about a day and left at dawn to head north. Got knocked around some more by even wilder weather so we headed into Santa Cruz, where we spent a fun-filled couple of days drinking margaritas, singing chanteys, paddling around in our kayak and enjoying some terrific fireworks. Following the advice of the local weather gurus, we left this morning at 4:30 AM and made it back to home port in about fifteen hours. All in all, even with the storms, we still got some great sailing in and had a blast! We're looking at a trip down to Morro Bay - I have a soft spot for that town.

Fern gave me lots of pictures yesterday, including some printed ones to send you (plus lots of digital ones of you and Chain Shot!) I'll be gone for the next couple of weeks but once I get back I'll get them to you.

Starting tonight, I'll be away for the next couple of weeks, sailing down to Southern California and back on the Aldebaran (the same ship Ransom and I were on at the NorCal festival.) We'll be within twenty miles of the coast going South, but in order to sail North, we'll have to head out towards Hawaii and then head back in. I've never been more than twenty miles from shore so this is going to be a new experience for me! Several of us will be bringing cameras, so I'll post pics when I get back. Here's a rough idea of our route: With any luck, I'll be back on the 14th but that depends on the winds.

In case there was any question of how Ransom spent that Saturday afternoon...

Yeah, but do those buckets have FLAMES shooting out of them?? If possible, I'm going to stop by and see Skip and the boys.

I'll be armed and we're bringing cannons so we'll be taking any ship we want!

What? You won't be posting hourly updates of the celebration goings-on?? Congratulations!!

Irritated. One of the users of our software is a whiny jerk. And he creates problems for our contacts at that company because every time he perceives there is a problem he goes over their heads and informs upper management. More often than not, he's the problem, but he still makes trouble. Every time I've had to deal with him I've wanted to reach through the phone and throttle him. And I'm sure my contacts at this company would pay good money to see that, I'll tell ya. I live for the day when I receive an email to disable this guy's login information because he's no longer with the company (and there will be much rejoicing there as well...) I've been enjoying a reprieve from this guy for a couple of months. But alas, my vacation from him had to end. He called this morning with another problem. He'll get an answer, but like always, it will differ from his opinion and he'll whine yet again to upper management. GRRRRR!

Hmmmm... the hamster in my brain is turning in his wheel and I'm coming up with all sorts of ideas. I think I have each of your embroidered emblems figured out. Might do a bit of sketching as well.

Wow - a bit out of my price range... You asked for pics:

I've been debating whether or not to join in. It's been ages since I've really sketched anything so my entries might be embroidered bits of cloth attached to a page or something like that. Redwood Shores - San Francisco Bay Area.

Yeah - I keep saying I should've gotten the Canadian version of Word. Except when I'm writing a technical or spec document and I need to remember to use the American spellings...

Check on the local craigslist - sometimes those clubs will sell off some of their boats. That's how Jack and I bought our Whitehall.

Awash with rum ye say?...

Aye, but Ransom and I were on a ship firing on all you landlubbers - eat YOUR hearts out!

I didn't find out until we were practically underway that arrangements had been made to taxi folks back to Vallejo after Sunday's battle. If we can get that squared away next year, we'll have you aboard both days rather than fighting the crowds on Sunday.

You know, I never realised how relatively uncrowded we were on Aldebaran... (Notice Patt in the lower right corner.)

Heh - without, for this sail. I'm going in drag, as a British sailor (hopefully I'll be able to get the buttonholes done on my wool short sailor's jacket.) How's that for a role reversal?

Aye - we've heard of this gathering. I think Jack and I will be chasing and firing cannons at tall ships that day. If we can dock nearby...

Thankful that I'm multi-racial. I didn't burn at all this weekend. (Sorry to hear you did, Ransom - yikes!)