Well we have moved aboard our catamaran. We have been finishing work on the boat and addressing new challenges as they occur. The most traumatic part of the move was leaving my cats with my son. One had not been seen for about 2 weeks but we suspected he was coming in to eat. I brought my daughter home from college yesterday and after she was home for about 2 hours at her dad’s house, the missing cat appeared. My son thought he was dreaming when he awakened in the middle of the night to find his cat in bed with him!
We are adjusting to our new space. We may have more storage room than anticipated. Food, clothing, boat gear and most knitting supplies are neatly tucked away. The sceond stateroom is largely a storage space.
It rained the week before our launch and then during about the first week on the boat. Leaks sprouted, we broke a solar panel, we had the sailmaker here to adjust the sail cover, lazy jacks and third reef point. We caulked and caulked again. Both DH and I have been aloft to work on the mast. DH rebuilt the marine head when it stopped functioning. There was so much to do, at times I didn’t appreciate the settings.
We left Fire Island and sailed to Blue Point where we stayed for about 3 days. That was where there were torrential rains and winds and all sorts of leaks were found. From there we went to Watch Hill on Fire Island, which is a beautiful national park and the marina hadn’t opened yet so noone else was there and the price was right. From there we headed to the Patchogue River for mother’s day weekend because we had a lot of commitments with family and friends. The setting was lovely and the sun finally broke through. We sailed with friends and walked the boardwalks at Watch Hill.
Early this week we headed to Timber Point, another beautiful park. There are ospreys, terns, red winged blackbirds, barn swallows and i think yellow warblers. I am beginning to settle in and enjoy the sights and sounds. Today we’ll head towards New York Harbor and we’ll spend next week in harbors on the north shore of Long Island.
I’ve developed a new spa program too. I only use a spork (combo spoon and fork) and mug to eat with and my portions are limited to the size of my mug. So I’m thinking of marketing a book and including the mug with recipes, that and 5-7 miles of hiking daily is a good fitness program. DH thought we might be slowly starving, but I never felt hungry.
Now I am on a felted clog binge. I had wanted to make these for a long time and the local Michael’s had a sale on Paton’s Classic Merino. First I made a pair for myself and then DH and my son wanted a pair. I will surprise Chelsea with another knitted item. The Paton’s Classic Merino felted easily – I have to finish all the felting projects quickly because we move onto the boat May 1 and will no longer have access to a top loader washer. I erred in the cuff of my pair and decreased much more than suggested but I have a narrow foot and they fit great. I felted DH’s and am finishing my son’s.
I looked forward to the snowstorm all weekend. How childish that I was looking forward to an unscheduled day off work. I only work 2 days a week and will have to reschedule all these patients anyway but….yipeeeee!! Overnight the house was shuddering with the wind. Snow frames all our windows and the wind and sleet are still blowing.
I’ll remember this sweater because it is about my 4th Fisherman style sweater and the first where I have gotten rid of the cable needles. I worked with techniques from EZ’s knitting glossary and a video I found on 
The cowl has been reworked again. Since it is too big and I am too lazy to rip it out, I have now knit up an I-cord so it fits snuggly. It’s great to wear when I run because I like my hair in a pony tail and hats don’t stay on.
And for a random photo, this large sea creature was offshore last week, hmmmm.
Tim and I were on a quest today. I wanted to see the snowy owls that have been seen at Jones Beach and was afraid they may leave as the weather warms. We drove out to West End Beach 2 and met a mixed batch of birders. The first group we met was happy to point us in the right direction although we didn’t really know where they meant. The second group was quite a contrast and were quite closed and tried to discourage us from looking. Tim’s strategy was to use the binoculars to look for groups of bird watchers who might be watching the birds we were looking for. This didn’t work too well but then someone told us that the area had become so popular that it was fenced off. This we could find. Even then, we wouldn’t have been able to see the Saw-Whet owl sequestered there until a photographer showed us it hidden in a pine tree. It wasn’t the Snowy owl though so we were off to the nature center. There the guide told us they hadn’t seen it that day but had seen birders in the west end of the park. This seems to be our best strategy, find the birders who might actually be looking at something and then try to find it. We saw a snowy owl but it was off in the distance and really looked like a piece of styrofoam.
There’s a barge offshore and it’s pumping sand onto the beach through a big pipe.
The seagulls are having a feast on the critters deposited with the fresh sand behind the tractors.
Island and North Country Life 