Hi All!
What a beautiful day!
We can finally see our lawn!!!
We haven’t seen the lawn since mid December.
MacGreggor
is ecstatic!
This is fantastic!
There is yet hope for liquid water again!!!
As you might expect we’re going stir crazy with our off schedule delays.
We’re still up in NH unintentionally spending our “snowbird winter” in hip deep snow in something of a holding pattern due to my unplanned health issues. Hopefully this last go-round of antibiotics have done the trick. Appointment tomorrow and results next week.
The plans we had for our SC home DIY Incremental Renovation Plans and those modifications for Over Easy have yet again been thwarted
It’s getting kinda ridiculous
While we are anything unique and the challenges others have overcome in the past two years have been substantially more challenging we thought there may be some interested in the Back Story:
We did up our plan back in the early Fall of 2019 after taking an early retirement offer in 2016, selling our home, moving to another up here in NH and then going through several back surgeries/recoveries concurrent with it all. (Yes, I’m a glutton for punishment…
)
Fix up an old family home in SC that needed a new A/c system, replace a 30 year old worse for wear roof, remove a chimney, renovate the interior, replace the plumbing, strip to joists and reconstruct a deck and cast a RV pad with sewer /power/water hook ups. We had already removed the over grown impenetrable jungle that had become what had once been a front and side yard (yes it really was an impenetrable jungle complete with vines, trees with three inch thorns that burned you when pricked, snakes and other unpleasant critters
).
Then for a reward we planned and went on a low budget family four week trip to visit our older daughter on her Peace Corps assignment in Morocco
For the Christmas/New Year Holidays which was wonderful! The people there are absolutely beautiful and wonderful and kind and considerate! Once there we drove though a stunningly beautiful country and had a great time. Met many many many exceptional people. (It helped that our daughter had become fluent in three dialects of Arabica while she was there…. I’m lucky to sorta know english
) My daughter is also conversational in French as well. The Admiral knows some French as well. The younger daughter is like a sponge and in little to no time had picked up enough language to go shopping at the local markets with her sister. They definitely didn’t get any linguistic capability from me! Now my Mom taught herself to speak four languages ( Polish, Russian, German and English) pretty much on her own growing up in WWII… I digress….. Morocco has a rich history, a beautiful coast-mountains-desert along with fantastic people.
We also made a side trip to Spain and then to France via a ferry across the Mediterranean Sea to Gibraltar on the coast of Spain. There we stayed on Houseboats in the harbor at the base of the Rock of Gibraltar. The girls used the bicycles to go explore the area and then hiked up an incredible trail to the top! They had a fantastic time and even made unexpected “friends” with a couple troops of the Gibraltar Monkeys along the way. The Admiral and I took the cable car to the top and got the aerial view. A late lunch (dinner) was had together at a great restaurant at the top with beautiful and stunning views in nearly every direction. The meals and views were worth every
Pound!
We then drove through Spain along the coast with a couple stops. One was in the Pyrenees Mountains for the girls to hike up a mountain ridge trail while the Admiral and I found a wonderful little home spun restaurant where without a common language made friends with the proprietor and staff while having the best Fresh Rabbit Paella I have every tasted. Then, as it apt to happen in mountain regions, the Pyrenees no exception, the weather suddenly turned without warning from sunshine to a very cold lashing rainstorm. The girls used their skills and experience to shelter up during the worst of it but realizing they were not prepared to actually spend the night up there worked their way down together arriving back at the start lot well after dark. Absolutely no cell service in the region. It was a bit anxious for the Admiral and I as we waited for them not knowing what was happening or which of the several trails they were returning on. After about 3 hours after full darkness had settled in they emerged from the forest! Cold, wet and hungry but in cheerful spirits for their adventures. Quite the bit of excitement for everyone! They had been prepared (as any good Girl Scout should be
for the unexpected with extra water, snacks, windbreakers and flashlights in addition to their phones. The LED headband lites are fantastic but somewhat limited in duration so they used them sparingly to navigate the trail down. They even when through a cave tunnel along the way! Quite the hike!
After Barcelona and the Salvador Dali Museum we travelled north up into France through the Cherbourg Brittany region visiting the Christmas fairs and the Puy de Dome volcano. The girls again wanted to hike up to the puy de Dome summit but the weather looked iffy. Getting to the trail head it started to flurry but they were determined…up until we say some pretty hardy hikers coming back down the trail a bit worse for wear. They had turned back and didn’t advise going up. Not only was the weather turning but the trail guide had a substantial typo in how long the hike would take. We thanked them, had a good laugh and instead we all took the modern Cog Tram up to the top. Halfway up the wind and snow picked up considerably to say the least. Both girls were begrudgingly appreciative of the change in plans. Once at the top everything was in snow, ice and wind with intermittent white out conditions. The plucky girls took on the challenge of hiking on to the Roman ruins up from the tram station while the Admiral and I enjoyed some nice wine, fromage, bread and pates in the Cafe. Eventually the intrepid adventurers return and warmed up with some delicious hot chocolates.
From there we went on to spend Christmas in Bayeux in Normandy near where the Allies landed. There we visited the D-Day Memorial and then the D-Day Museum. Quite moving and interesting and humbling to first hand see and appreciate the significant sacrifices made to fight for Democracy, to conquer Fascism, the Nazis. The rows upon rows of headstone stretching out make one feel humble. My Father was in the amphibious engineers who established and reconstructed the Mulberry Harbor System to get the men and supplies ashore. He had done the same previously at the landings at Anzio (Italy). The Admiral’s Dad came in a few months later with the fight up to cross the Rhine River and then on into Germany. The men who fought and now rest beneath all those tombstones and those that survived the untold battles know the true cost of what it takes to have a Democracy. (Not a bunch of loud mouthed cr#$&@l clown car pseudoscience whining wannabes POS who attempt to wrap themselves in the very flag they def#@&e and dese#$@%e by their very words and actions. There isn’t a Hole hot enough or deep enough or punishment severe enough for those dam#$@&e individuals in my perspective. I won’t debate the issue. Enough said.)
New Years was spent in Paris on a Midnight River Cruise in front of the Eiffel Tower. It was wonderful and for us a once in a lifetime event! The Louvre was fantastic even if I had the see it from a wheelchair. (During the trip my back injuries became progressively inflamed and debilitating.) We also got to the Musee de l’air et de l’espace ( National Air and Space Museum of France). What a place! It has everything from the early Montgolfier gallons, to dirigibles, to Bleriot (and his Bleriot XI crossing of the English Channel ) to the planes of WWI, the inter-war years, WWII through to the current Ariane launch vehicles that launch satellites and deep space interplanetary probes. Both Louvre are exceptional places to see and explore. If we were to ever be fortunate enough to go back we would plan on spending several more days in each place.
We returned back down through France to Barcelona Spain then flew back into Morocco. Our older daughter had to get back to her assignments but not before we got to have an exceptional dinner with eight or so of her fellow Peace Corps Volunteers I’m Morocco. These are some of the best, brightest, energetic individuals I have had the opportunity to meet and share a long meal with. The time passed way too quickly. We continued our travels in Morocco (sans older daughter
) until it was time to return home. My mobility issues continued to worsen but didn’t diminish my appreciation of Morocco or it’s wonderful people, who went out of their way to be helpful, kind and courteous to a fault. Having to be wheeled through an airport wasn’t a highlight but the Air Moroc personnel were extremely helpful and considerate as were the Moroccan TSA personnel.
After arriving back Stateside and in SC I was pretty much flat on my back with muscle relaxants and pain meds while the back issues sorted themselves out over time. Then COVID-19 hit and our collective world ground to a halt. With a full scale worldwide pandemic flaming though the world’s population it wasn’t the time or place to be tearing down walls-doors-windows-plumbing-electrical or traveling anywhere. So our renovation plans were put on hold and we concentrated on healing, staying healthy and navigating a new pandemic environment based on science and facts and common sense instead of wishful thinking… Our older daughter was suddenly evacuated from Morocco back to the States. After going through quarantine she joined us in SC. As COVID-19 cases gain momentum and deaths accumulated (some of them in our own neighborhood) I must admit that things didn’t look very good at all as our local SC hospitals were being overwhelmed with severe cases. The brief forays hunting for TP and sanitizers were almost welcome comic relief. Our older daughter was accepted for a Masters Program at the University of Vermont! Wow! She started in August 2020 so that got us out of our southern cocoon and headed north… after getting our younger daughter started in her classes at UofSC.
We finally had to get back up north to NH in September to look after our primary home there. The Lawncare guys had stopped (because I believe they had gotten sick and then closed their business to recover). We quarantined once there and did what we could do. That’s when we found Over Easy our Mac26X which was one of the better things to happen on 2020! We winterized the house and headed back south for the winter of 2020-2021. We still couldn’t go ahead with the renovations or having contractors in the house nor did we want to risk any potentials of injuries to our selves given the lack of medical services availability. So as a Plan B we did our initial modifications to get Over Easy more prepared to cruise the ICW. It was fun and it took our minds off of other less happy things. We took a slip in the Marina. What a great way to get started with getting used to our new to us Over Easy and leisurely exploring all the wonderful estuaries surrounding us. At the time there was still no vaccine available so the renovations had to wait.
Finally a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccination was available!!!
What a relief that was I can barely articulate. For the first time in a year there was a chance that our world might stand a fighting chance.
We got vaccinated when we qualified as did our daughters. By then our younger daughter had decided to take the Spring Term off as she was rethinking her life plans, wanted a break and wanted to travel the back roads of the United States while doing some hiking and rock climbing. So the Admiral and I decided to try some travel of our own which led us to our live aboard experience on Lake Champlain VT for 70 nights described previously.
Note, after the COVID-19 vaccines proved effective and our local hospitals became less unhindered for the first time in over a year we attempted to get some current quotes from some good contractors… the problem was they were either booked or had become too pricey for our limited budget. So we revised our SC renovation plans into bite size bits we could do ourselves after we got back from Lake Champlain in mid November 2021. Some light weight aspects were done and moved but we held off on the heavier aspects of the plan for the Christmas and New Years Holidays back up here in NH starting in mid December with a return planned for early January. Then suddenly —==> BINGO!
Well that didn’t work! The surprise medical issues upset the plans yet again leaving us in a holding pattern up in NH.
So much for the plans of mice and men… again
Hopefully the test results come back negative next week. Our delays have consumed about two+ months of relatively unproductive albeit uncomfortable
occasional painful
off planned time…. If so we’ll make our way back down to SC, replace a door or two and maybe a window or two on the renovation plan. Then we’ll lift off and deinstalled the old existing Tohatsu 50hp engine and controls onto a stand (we have yet to fabricate
…….) so we can possibly use it for a fishing runabout ..TBD. Once that’s accomplished we travel north back to NH for the installation of our new Suzuki engine and controls in late June or early July. The rest of the Summer will be getting some yard remodeling done up there. Primarily a regraded driveway with old shrubs removed to improve drainage away from the house rather (than towards it
) and possibly some retaining walls and fill to level out some of the backyard towards the pond. It’s a plan anyway
. At this point I’m not holding my breath. A plan and $1 might get me a free cup of coffee…maybe
Hopefully somewhere in the midst of all that we’d very much like to get back to Lake Champlain VT for awhile to enjoy its exceptional beauty and variety. Maybe even over to the Great Bay here in NH and wet our toes out into the Atlantic by Portsmouth. We can only hope at this point
So much for now. Hope I haven’t bored anyone to tears but as you can probably guess I’m not enjoying my health issue delays when there is still so much to do and experience. Admiral says I’ve always been a lousy patient.
“Time is always short in life so be kind, considerate, protect others, be brave, have courage, be responsible, seek justice, embrace truth, be adventurous, create, build, fix, comfort others, be ambitious and always try to do the next right thing within your capabilities (even if you fall down just pick yourself to continue on) to make a better - fairer - more equatable - safer home/community/State/country and World
for you, your children and your children’s children.” is something that my father shared with me over his life. His grammar might have been a bit off but the intent came through. Still gotta whole lotta ‘to do’ on the list.
Best Regards
Over Easy
For the Christmas/New Year Holidays which was wonderful! The people there are absolutely beautiful and wonderful and kind and considerate! Once there we drove though a stunningly beautiful country and had a great time. Met many many many exceptional people. (It helped that our daughter had become fluent in three dialects of Arabica while she was there…. I’m lucky to sorta know english 
occasional painful 
off planned time…. If so we’ll make our way back down to SC, replace a door or two and maybe a window or two on the renovation plan. Then we’ll lift off and deinstalled the old existing Tohatsu 50hp engine and controls onto a stand (we have yet to fabricate 
for you, your children and your children’s children.” is something that my father shared with me over his life. His grammar might have been a bit off but the intent came through. Still gotta whole lotta ‘to do’ on the list. 
but realistically with three months of delay it’s just what is.
