Feb 3, 2013, at anchor, Bahia de los Muertos, Baja California Sur
We actually ended up spending this day at anchor. According to the morning weather, the winds were starting to drop but the seas were still very choppy. There were two other boats in the anchorage with us and they were also waiting one more day before heading out. Actually, the real reason they were waiting was that it was Super Bowl Sunday and the restaurant ashore was showing the game. Since we did not care about the game, we just spent the day on the boat, doing odd jobs and listing for updates from Circe.
As of the morning, the Mexican navy still had not arrived. Little by little the radio chatter picked up. They were getting permission. They were getting a team together. A sailor named Eddie came on the radio who spoke good English and said that they were on their way. They arrived. Eddie went aboard Circe to assess the situation. Eddie went back to his boat and they went back out to sea where they could get better reception. They went back to Circe and went aboard again. They left and went back out to call their commander again. They called in a bigger boat. The bigger boat arrived. Lots of people went aboard Circe. There was lots of discussion in Spanish. Even the larger boat was not going to be able to tow her into La Paz because of the jammed rudder. Eventually, Circe was towed closer to shore to a reasonably safe anchorage. The anchor was set. The captain and his little dog left Circe and boarded the coast guard boat and were taken back to La Paz.
We heard the next day that he found someone with a large power boat who was able to tow her back to La Paz for repairs. The sad thing was that he had just gotten this boat. What a shake down cruise.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Feb. 2, 2013 Isla Espiritu Santo to Bahia de los Muertos
The best laid plans....
This was the day we were finally going to to be able to leave the island and start across to Mazitlan. We plotted a course, listened to the weather report and checked the tides and moon. Since we were expecting winds in the 20s, we reefed the main sail the night before. We had about 200 feet of anchor chain out so it took a while to get it all in. Thank heavens for the electric windlass with remote.
We were finally out of the bay around 9:00 and headed south in brisk north wind. Alan decided to leave the motor on because the batteries were very low but we were actually sailing down the bay and out through the channel into the Sea. Course set for 120 to take us down along the inside coast of Baja to Bahia de los Muertos. We had it all timed out perfectly. We reached the head of the passage between the Isla Cerralvo and the mainland right at noon, just as the tied turned to carry us down. And then Alan picked up a distress call on the radio. (pan pan)
There was a sailboat named Circe, drifting with a broken rudder about 10 miles ahead of us. No one else responded to his emergency call, so it was up to us to help. So now we had an exercise in navigation. Here is where you are, there is where he is. What course do you set and how long will it take you to get to him. Of course as always the wind is not blowing in the right direction and in fact is getting lighter and lighter. I am afraid that we did not do too well plotting a course, even with radar, ipad and paper charts, but eventually we found him about 2 miles off the shore.
When we arrived it was not clear what we could do. First thing was he wanted was for us to stand by while he jumped overboard to see if he could figure out what was wrong. That water is cold but over he went. He hopped that it was just something jammed or wrapped around the prop but when he went down, he discovered that it was actually bent. He tried several times with a crowbar but could not get it to budge. Once he was back out of the water, no one had any idea what to do next. We could not pull him, especially not with a jammed rudder. Our only idea was to wait until 6:00 when there would be a radio net and put the word out for help. It was shortly after 3:00 at this point.
Eventually I could not stand just drifting and doing nothing. I got on the radio and started calling for help in english and spanish on any channel I could think of. VHF radio reception was weak, so Alan got on the SSB radio and started calling on it. Eventually we started getting answers. Boats in La Paz and also in Los Muertos got on radios and on cell phones. People called the port captain in La Paz and eventually someone talked to the mexican navy. The community came together to help one of their own and the mexican navy said they would send an inflatable. Since it seemed like help was on the way and it was already late in the day, we eventually headed on our way south. We had lost several hours and also the help from the tide. And of course, the wind had died. We were gong to be anchoring in Los Muertos after dark and the moon would not come up until midnight.
Unfortunately, the navy did not get their act together. There was lots of radio traffic, in spanish. If you think it is hard to hear and understand on a radio try doing it in spanish underway with the noise of wind and waves added to the radio static. For a long time the navy thought Rhapsody was the boat with the problem and kept asking us where we were and what the problem was. Then someone said that the capitan said that there was too much wind in La Paz and the navy would not be able to respond until the wind dropped, but we should keep calm. At one point the captain of one of the Mazitlan ferry boats got into the conversation. And there were still a number of other boats trying to arrange help. At least there was not much wind where Circe was and she did not seem to be drifting onto shore. In fact, once the tide turned, she was being pushed off shore and further north.
Alan finally brought Rhapsody into the Bahia de los Muertos about 10:00pm and dropped the anchor perfectly. As far as we could tell, Circe had given up for the night and hopefully was getting some rest, too. The one good thing was that I finally had some real life experience on what to do in an emergency. I have long had the question of what I would do if I needed to get help. The answer is, get on the radio and start calling and keep calling on lots of different frequencies until you get an answer.
The best laid plans....
This was the day we were finally going to to be able to leave the island and start across to Mazitlan. We plotted a course, listened to the weather report and checked the tides and moon. Since we were expecting winds in the 20s, we reefed the main sail the night before. We had about 200 feet of anchor chain out so it took a while to get it all in. Thank heavens for the electric windlass with remote.
We were finally out of the bay around 9:00 and headed south in brisk north wind. Alan decided to leave the motor on because the batteries were very low but we were actually sailing down the bay and out through the channel into the Sea. Course set for 120 to take us down along the inside coast of Baja to Bahia de los Muertos. We had it all timed out perfectly. We reached the head of the passage between the Isla Cerralvo and the mainland right at noon, just as the tied turned to carry us down. And then Alan picked up a distress call on the radio. (pan pan)
There was a sailboat named Circe, drifting with a broken rudder about 10 miles ahead of us. No one else responded to his emergency call, so it was up to us to help. So now we had an exercise in navigation. Here is where you are, there is where he is. What course do you set and how long will it take you to get to him. Of course as always the wind is not blowing in the right direction and in fact is getting lighter and lighter. I am afraid that we did not do too well plotting a course, even with radar, ipad and paper charts, but eventually we found him about 2 miles off the shore.
When we arrived it was not clear what we could do. First thing was he wanted was for us to stand by while he jumped overboard to see if he could figure out what was wrong. That water is cold but over he went. He hopped that it was just something jammed or wrapped around the prop but when he went down, he discovered that it was actually bent. He tried several times with a crowbar but could not get it to budge. Once he was back out of the water, no one had any idea what to do next. We could not pull him, especially not with a jammed rudder. Our only idea was to wait until 6:00 when there would be a radio net and put the word out for help. It was shortly after 3:00 at this point.
Eventually I could not stand just drifting and doing nothing. I got on the radio and started calling for help in english and spanish on any channel I could think of. VHF radio reception was weak, so Alan got on the SSB radio and started calling on it. Eventually we started getting answers. Boats in La Paz and also in Los Muertos got on radios and on cell phones. People called the port captain in La Paz and eventually someone talked to the mexican navy. The community came together to help one of their own and the mexican navy said they would send an inflatable. Since it seemed like help was on the way and it was already late in the day, we eventually headed on our way south. We had lost several hours and also the help from the tide. And of course, the wind had died. We were gong to be anchoring in Los Muertos after dark and the moon would not come up until midnight.
Unfortunately, the navy did not get their act together. There was lots of radio traffic, in spanish. If you think it is hard to hear and understand on a radio try doing it in spanish underway with the noise of wind and waves added to the radio static. For a long time the navy thought Rhapsody was the boat with the problem and kept asking us where we were and what the problem was. Then someone said that the capitan said that there was too much wind in La Paz and the navy would not be able to respond until the wind dropped, but we should keep calm. At one point the captain of one of the Mazitlan ferry boats got into the conversation. And there were still a number of other boats trying to arrange help. At least there was not much wind where Circe was and she did not seem to be drifting onto shore. In fact, once the tide turned, she was being pushed off shore and further north.
Alan finally brought Rhapsody into the Bahia de los Muertos about 10:00pm and dropped the anchor perfectly. As far as we could tell, Circe had given up for the night and hopefully was getting some rest, too. The one good thing was that I finally had some real life experience on what to do in an emergency. I have long had the question of what I would do if I needed to get help. The answer is, get on the radio and start calling and keep calling on lots of different frequencies until you get an answer.
Jan 29-31, Feb 1, 2013, Caleta Partida, Isla Espiritu Santo, BCS
Up early, a quick breakfast and up anchor. We are not going to spend another like that. Since the promised norther is finally starting to blow, we are just going one cove down, back to the volcanic crater which has a much more sheltered anchorage. Even though it was only a a mile or two away it took almost two hours to get there and anchored. There were 5-6 other boats already there but we found a spot and let out lots of anchor chain. And there we sat for the next 4 days while the wind howled around us, with periodic gusts up to 30 knots. Since this really was a quite sheltered anchorage, the boat actually was fairly still, just rocking slightly. But it was cold and we did not even want to go on deck. In fact we stuffed a pillow into the hatch at night to keep the wind out.
You would think we would be bored out of our minds, but in fact we were not. There are still lots of odd jobs to do as we settle into the shipboard life. We ran the water maker. The water maker uses a reverse osmosis technique to create fresh water from salt water. It needs to be run every 3-4 days and takes about 1/2 hour to refill our tanks. Although we are still careful with water, it is wonderful not to have to ration every drop. Several more cupboards were cleaned and sorted. I did a lot of sewing and sorted out photos. Alan worked on various mechanical projects. We put on music and danced. We read. We have radio reception again and a couple of hours a day are spent listening to the various nets. It was actually a lovely quiet time, just living together, just the two of us.
Up early, a quick breakfast and up anchor. We are not going to spend another like that. Since the promised norther is finally starting to blow, we are just going one cove down, back to the volcanic crater which has a much more sheltered anchorage. Even though it was only a a mile or two away it took almost two hours to get there and anchored. There were 5-6 other boats already there but we found a spot and let out lots of anchor chain. And there we sat for the next 4 days while the wind howled around us, with periodic gusts up to 30 knots. Since this really was a quite sheltered anchorage, the boat actually was fairly still, just rocking slightly. But it was cold and we did not even want to go on deck. In fact we stuffed a pillow into the hatch at night to keep the wind out.
You would think we would be bored out of our minds, but in fact we were not. There are still lots of odd jobs to do as we settle into the shipboard life. We ran the water maker. The water maker uses a reverse osmosis technique to create fresh water from salt water. It needs to be run every 3-4 days and takes about 1/2 hour to refill our tanks. Although we are still careful with water, it is wonderful not to have to ration every drop. Several more cupboards were cleaned and sorted. I did a lot of sewing and sorted out photos. Alan worked on various mechanical projects. We put on music and danced. We read. We have radio reception again and a couple of hours a day are spent listening to the various nets. It was actually a lovely quiet time, just living together, just the two of us.
Jan 23,-25, 2013
After a couple of lazy days in Puerto Ballena, watching birds and puttering around on the boat, we moved up the coast. We poked our nose into the next bay, Candelero, but decided that it was just like the first, without the wonderful rock faces so we went on up to Caleta Partida.
This anchorage is actually an old volcano crater and separates Espirito Santo from Isla Partida. That is the mainland of Baja that you see in the background.
Beautiful, calm, not a cloud in the sky. Once we were anchored we unfolded the dingy and went touring. The water was beautifully clear and the cliffs went straight down. It is almost, but not quite, warm enough to go for a swim. Once we are settled in, we set off in the dingy to explore the bay. There are fish everywhere, little stripy ones, bright butterfly fish, star fish and scallops on the rocks. I even saw a turtle basking in the sun. The rocks are covered with crabs, great big blue ones with bright red legs, that scatter when we get close.
When we are finished rowing around, we get to work on more boat jobs. This time it is painting, specifically the outside of the cabin and all around the deck. The paint is all flaking off and still covered with soot from Long Beach harbor and should have been done long ago. I have been daunted by what a huge job it is, so I decided to take it in small sections starting with the area just outside of the hatch. After a few hours of scraping, sanding, washing and painting it is done. What a difference. It looks beautiful. I am anxious to start the next session.
The wind starts to blow in the afternoon but quits in the early morning for another glassy smooth morning.
After a couple of lazy days in Puerto Ballena, watching birds and puttering around on the boat, we moved up the coast. We poked our nose into the next bay, Candelero, but decided that it was just like the first, without the wonderful rock faces so we went on up to Caleta Partida.
This anchorage is actually an old volcano crater and separates Espirito Santo from Isla Partida. That is the mainland of Baja that you see in the background.
Beautiful, calm, not a cloud in the sky. Once we were anchored we unfolded the dingy and went touring. The water was beautifully clear and the cliffs went straight down. It is almost, but not quite, warm enough to go for a swim. Once we are settled in, we set off in the dingy to explore the bay. There are fish everywhere, little stripy ones, bright butterfly fish, star fish and scallops on the rocks. I even saw a turtle basking in the sun. The rocks are covered with crabs, great big blue ones with bright red legs, that scatter when we get close.
When we are finished rowing around, we get to work on more boat jobs. This time it is painting, specifically the outside of the cabin and all around the deck. The paint is all flaking off and still covered with soot from Long Beach harbor and should have been done long ago. I have been daunted by what a huge job it is, so I decided to take it in small sections starting with the area just outside of the hatch. After a few hours of scraping, sanding, washing and painting it is done. What a difference. It looks beautiful. I am anxious to start the next session.
The wind starts to blow in the afternoon but quits in the early morning for another glassy smooth morning.
Jan 21,and 22, 2013, Sunday, Puerto Ballena, Isla Espiritu Santo, Sea of Cortez, BCS
Our first anchorage On Isla Espirito Santo was Puerto Ballena. Clear water, beautiful red rock cliffs, one other boat at anchor, no sign of habitation on shore. The entire island is a national park, part of a World Heritage Site. After being devastated by pearl fisherman, sport fishermen and japanese trawlers, the Sea of Cortez is finally being allowed to regenerate. Alan is reading The Sea of Cortez by Steinbeck and it is fascinating to be in the same places that he talks about.
The most fascinating feature of this cove is the faces in the rock cliffs. The soft red rock has split and crumbled away leaving caves and vertical lines that gave the effect of giant faces on the rock, much like a forest from an Arthur Rackham illustration. Unfortunately the picture does not do it justice but if you look closely to the right you can make out a contorted mouth with the rest of the face above. In the late afternoon sun the entire cliff was lined with these wonderful grotesque faces.
After lunch we unfolded the dingy and went off exploring the cove. The water is warm and shallow, clear and teaming with life. The sandy bottom was covered with black speckles which I thought at first were pebbles, although they did not look quite right. Eventually I reached down and grabbed a small clump. Whatever they were they were not rocks but something living, maybe fish eggs. Alan kept looking for sea slugs since Steinbeck had talked about finding hundreds of them but we did not see any. Maybe the black things were sea slug eggs. We are getting quite attached to our folding boat, which we have name George, and the very quiet solar charged electric motor. It is lovely to be able to drift along slowly and quietly, turning it back on with just a twist of the wrist without having to pull a starter cable and breath fumes.
Back at the boat, we spent a lot of time going through files and paperwork, organizing and tossing. Since Alan had never had time to really go through his files to see what he needed, I had just brought along anything that looked important. We ended up getting rid of half of it. It has been shredded into tiny pieces to be fed to the fish sometime when we are far out at sea. Little by little things are starting to fit and settle into their places.
Our first anchorage On Isla Espirito Santo was Puerto Ballena. Clear water, beautiful red rock cliffs, one other boat at anchor, no sign of habitation on shore. The entire island is a national park, part of a World Heritage Site. After being devastated by pearl fisherman, sport fishermen and japanese trawlers, the Sea of Cortez is finally being allowed to regenerate. Alan is reading The Sea of Cortez by Steinbeck and it is fascinating to be in the same places that he talks about.
The most fascinating feature of this cove is the faces in the rock cliffs. The soft red rock has split and crumbled away leaving caves and vertical lines that gave the effect of giant faces on the rock, much like a forest from an Arthur Rackham illustration. Unfortunately the picture does not do it justice but if you look closely to the right you can make out a contorted mouth with the rest of the face above. In the late afternoon sun the entire cliff was lined with these wonderful grotesque faces.
After lunch we unfolded the dingy and went off exploring the cove. The water is warm and shallow, clear and teaming with life. The sandy bottom was covered with black speckles which I thought at first were pebbles, although they did not look quite right. Eventually I reached down and grabbed a small clump. Whatever they were they were not rocks but something living, maybe fish eggs. Alan kept looking for sea slugs since Steinbeck had talked about finding hundreds of them but we did not see any. Maybe the black things were sea slug eggs. We are getting quite attached to our folding boat, which we have name George, and the very quiet solar charged electric motor. It is lovely to be able to drift along slowly and quietly, turning it back on with just a twist of the wrist without having to pull a starter cable and breath fumes.
Back at the boat, we spent a lot of time going through files and paperwork, organizing and tossing. Since Alan had never had time to really go through his files to see what he needed, I had just brought along anything that looked important. We ended up getting rid of half of it. It has been shredded into tiny pieces to be fed to the fish sometime when we are far out at sea. Little by little things are starting to fit and settle into their places.
Jan 10-18, 2013, Cortez Marina, La Paz, BCS, Part 2
PICTURES DID NOT POST
Over the next several days the wind kicked up and it got cold. I had packed away my warm clothes before I left because we were “in paradise” now where it is always warm. Darn. Back to jackets and long pants.
The rest of the week in La Paz was spent exploring the town and working on projects. Groceries came from any one of a number of small shops and stalls. It is not really a pretty town. A few of the old buildings are left but have been converted into offices, shops and restaurants. Most of them have been replaced by modern concrete buildings that somehow never look finished. Sidewalks start and stop at random and there are a lot of weed filled lots. But people are friendly and seem happy and busy. I never saw any homeless or beggars. In the evenings and on the weekend the malacon along the waterfront was filled with people out strolling, biking or rollerskating.
I developed a habit of going down different streets every time I went into town. On one trip I discovered a community garden and had a great time with the young man in charge. My onboard herb garden had died of neglect while I was gone. He was happy to sell me some basil plants and seeds for cilantro and arugula. Back at the boat, I turned out all the old soil and started over, adding the bottoms of some green onions that were onboard. I really need to find or make some kind of greenhouse cover for it to keep the wind and salt spray off.
When we bought Rhapsody, way back when, I had 3 requests. I wanted a spice rack, a big mirror and someplace to keep jewelry. So far, all 3 had been at the bottom of the project list but this was the week that it changed. Alan had made not one but two lovely spice racks while I was gone. We only needed to decide where to put them.
Next came the mirror. It was to go on the door to the head. He had the measurements and the approximate location of a mirror shop in town, approximate because the were, “close to the church, maybe a few blocks away from the waterfront”. Eventually we found it , and entered into discussions in our weak spanish as to exactly what was needed. Mission accomplished, we headed home and once there, realized that we did not know how we were going to install it. The next day, I made my way back to the shop alone armed with pictures of the door. After further discussions which included a son who had not been there the day before, I emerged with a tube of silicone guaranteed to hold it in place even if the boat sank. Two out of three projects completed.
The final project, my jewelry box, I completed myself Armed with the tube of silicone and some discarded packing foam, I transformed the inside of the medicine cabinet into a cabinet for my jewelry. It is tiny but it holds several pair of earrings and a few necklaces. Just enough to glam up an pair of pants for a night on the town.
Friday morning when we were supposed to leave it was was still cold and windy and we still had projects that were not quite done so we decided to give ourselves one more day before we left. Finally, Saturday morning the weather was better . Time to say goodbye to friends and cast off. We made our way down the channel to the gas dock and then across the bay where we anchored ready for an early start the next day.
PICTURES DID NOT POST
Over the next several days the wind kicked up and it got cold. I had packed away my warm clothes before I left because we were “in paradise” now where it is always warm. Darn. Back to jackets and long pants.
The rest of the week in La Paz was spent exploring the town and working on projects. Groceries came from any one of a number of small shops and stalls. It is not really a pretty town. A few of the old buildings are left but have been converted into offices, shops and restaurants. Most of them have been replaced by modern concrete buildings that somehow never look finished. Sidewalks start and stop at random and there are a lot of weed filled lots. But people are friendly and seem happy and busy. I never saw any homeless or beggars. In the evenings and on the weekend the malacon along the waterfront was filled with people out strolling, biking or rollerskating.
I developed a habit of going down different streets every time I went into town. On one trip I discovered a community garden and had a great time with the young man in charge. My onboard herb garden had died of neglect while I was gone. He was happy to sell me some basil plants and seeds for cilantro and arugula. Back at the boat, I turned out all the old soil and started over, adding the bottoms of some green onions that were onboard. I really need to find or make some kind of greenhouse cover for it to keep the wind and salt spray off.
When we bought Rhapsody, way back when, I had 3 requests. I wanted a spice rack, a big mirror and someplace to keep jewelry. So far, all 3 had been at the bottom of the project list but this was the week that it changed. Alan had made not one but two lovely spice racks while I was gone. We only needed to decide where to put them.
Next came the mirror. It was to go on the door to the head. He had the measurements and the approximate location of a mirror shop in town, approximate because the were, “close to the church, maybe a few blocks away from the waterfront”. Eventually we found it , and entered into discussions in our weak spanish as to exactly what was needed. Mission accomplished, we headed home and once there, realized that we did not know how we were going to install it. The next day, I made my way back to the shop alone armed with pictures of the door. After further discussions which included a son who had not been there the day before, I emerged with a tube of silicone guaranteed to hold it in place even if the boat sank. Two out of three projects completed.
The final project, my jewelry box, I completed myself Armed with the tube of silicone and some discarded packing foam, I transformed the inside of the medicine cabinet into a cabinet for my jewelry. It is tiny but it holds several pair of earrings and a few necklaces. Just enough to glam up an pair of pants for a night on the town.
Friday morning when we were supposed to leave it was was still cold and windy and we still had projects that were not quite done so we decided to give ourselves one more day before we left. Finally, Saturday morning the weather was better . Time to say goodbye to friends and cast off. We made our way down the channel to the gas dock and then across the bay where we anchored ready for an early start the next day.
Nov, 23, 2012-Jan 10, 2013 6 weeks at home
The house looked almost the same as when we had left 3 weeks before. The unfinished projects still sitting where I had left them. Spent Thanksgiving with Audrey’s family while Chris and Molly were in Chicago. Monday morning I took all of the clothes that I had left in the closet, my sewing machine and piles of unfinished sewing projects and moved into my new apartment at Kaiser. It is still hard to believe that they provide free housing for people who have to undergo daily treatments. My only complaint was that there was no internet. I had to walk several blocks down the street to the main hospital cafeteria to get wifi.
Tuesday I reported for my first treatment. For the next 6 weeks except for Sundays and holidays, I walked down the street and reported in for my daily dose of radiation. I lay down on a table and my head was clamped into a restraining device that looked somewhat like a hockey mask. For the next 20 minutes lay there and listened to music, did ab exercises or made plans for the day while machines buzzed and whirred delivering a minutely targeted dose of radiation to the inside of my head where there was an enlarged blood vessel that was threatening to do bad things if it was not stopped. When it was done I was released to go about my day. The staff was wonderful. I had no side effects except for a couple of bouts of vertigo when the inner ear became inflamed by the radiation. Mostly it was an inconvenience. But possibly an inconvenience that saved my life. So I am not complaining.
Most of my time, when I was not at the hospital, was spent helping Chris clean out and repaint the house. Despite almost two years of cleaning, sorting, tossing and sending to relatives, the house was still full of our stuff, everything from clothes and files to books, records, pictures and rocks and shells and “cutsies” collected from all of our travels. If Chris and Molly were really going to live here for the next several years while we were out sailing the seas, they needed to make it theirs. So, room by room, the real cleaning out finally started.
First the living room, starting with the music. CDs were boxed and put into the attic for Chris to go through later. We had already transferred what we wanted on the boat to an iPod. Vinyl records were sorted and boxes were taken to local record stores or thrift shops. Boxes and boxes of books were given to the library. Many more were boxed and stored to be looked over later. Only two boxes were marked “save”, the rest were expendable. Pictures that I wanted to keep went into the attic, the rest to the thrift shops, etc, etc. We never really had much furniture and most of that had come from the thrift shop in the first place. Out it went. The room was finally empty.
Now it was possible to see the damage done by years of too much stuff and not enough time. Plaster was cracked and several window frames were rotten. Wiring projects hidden behind furniture had never been finished. Eventually the room was ready to paint. Chris had picked a beautiful blue, with the fireplace wall a darker shade, with glossy white woodwork. Quite a contrast to our cream and beige. Very beautiful and very much Chris’ colors. It was done and clean and ready for furniture Monday before Christmas. The dining room table and cabinets with china and glassware went into one half of the living room. Two easy chairs and a coffee table went into the other half by the fireplace. The dining room had been painted and the floor refinished in August and it now became a den. They found the perfect sofa and hutch in a thrift shop. Speakers were rehung and a sound system put together. The tree was purchased and voila! it was Christmas. The house was ready to welcome Molly’s parents for the holidays.
It was an intense time but a good one. We had left the house as if we might be coming home any moment and taking up where we had left off. After 6 weeks of sailing, I now knew that we would not be coming back any time soon. Time to really say good-bye to all of this. We had almost 40 years of living in this house and it defined who we were to a surprising extent. The yard was huge and wild and climbed up a hill, a place where kids could escape and climb and play and dig and create racetracks and rivers. The house spilled out into the backyard in the summer so that it was no problem to have 50 people for a party. Walking the many stairs from the street to the living room to the bedrooms, out to the backyard and up the hill to the garden kept our legs and our hearts strong. It was never really clean but I always thought that it was more for kids to be able to have fun and be creative than to live in a immaculately clean house. There were always projects that needed to be done, and usually were not. There were always fresh herbs and lemons or limes and plums and apricots in the summer. There were always animals, dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, snakes, fish, raccoons, possums and skunks. And the bedroom with 3 walls of glass where we could watch storms over the mountains and the squirrels and birds just outside the window. There was never any place to park and the noise from traffic, fire engines and helicopters was irritating. It was a wonderful house and a difficult house. I never expected to stay there more than a few years and ended staying so long the the grandkids got to climb and dig in the garden. Who knows if we will be back to live there again. If so, we will be very different people, creating something new.
The house looked almost the same as when we had left 3 weeks before. The unfinished projects still sitting where I had left them. Spent Thanksgiving with Audrey’s family while Chris and Molly were in Chicago. Monday morning I took all of the clothes that I had left in the closet, my sewing machine and piles of unfinished sewing projects and moved into my new apartment at Kaiser. It is still hard to believe that they provide free housing for people who have to undergo daily treatments. My only complaint was that there was no internet. I had to walk several blocks down the street to the main hospital cafeteria to get wifi.
Tuesday I reported for my first treatment. For the next 6 weeks except for Sundays and holidays, I walked down the street and reported in for my daily dose of radiation. I lay down on a table and my head was clamped into a restraining device that looked somewhat like a hockey mask. For the next 20 minutes lay there and listened to music, did ab exercises or made plans for the day while machines buzzed and whirred delivering a minutely targeted dose of radiation to the inside of my head where there was an enlarged blood vessel that was threatening to do bad things if it was not stopped. When it was done I was released to go about my day. The staff was wonderful. I had no side effects except for a couple of bouts of vertigo when the inner ear became inflamed by the radiation. Mostly it was an inconvenience. But possibly an inconvenience that saved my life. So I am not complaining.
Most of my time, when I was not at the hospital, was spent helping Chris clean out and repaint the house. Despite almost two years of cleaning, sorting, tossing and sending to relatives, the house was still full of our stuff, everything from clothes and files to books, records, pictures and rocks and shells and “cutsies” collected from all of our travels. If Chris and Molly were really going to live here for the next several years while we were out sailing the seas, they needed to make it theirs. So, room by room, the real cleaning out finally started.
First the living room, starting with the music. CDs were boxed and put into the attic for Chris to go through later. We had already transferred what we wanted on the boat to an iPod. Vinyl records were sorted and boxes were taken to local record stores or thrift shops. Boxes and boxes of books were given to the library. Many more were boxed and stored to be looked over later. Only two boxes were marked “save”, the rest were expendable. Pictures that I wanted to keep went into the attic, the rest to the thrift shops, etc, etc. We never really had much furniture and most of that had come from the thrift shop in the first place. Out it went. The room was finally empty.
Now it was possible to see the damage done by years of too much stuff and not enough time. Plaster was cracked and several window frames were rotten. Wiring projects hidden behind furniture had never been finished. Eventually the room was ready to paint. Chris had picked a beautiful blue, with the fireplace wall a darker shade, with glossy white woodwork. Quite a contrast to our cream and beige. Very beautiful and very much Chris’ colors. It was done and clean and ready for furniture Monday before Christmas. The dining room table and cabinets with china and glassware went into one half of the living room. Two easy chairs and a coffee table went into the other half by the fireplace. The dining room had been painted and the floor refinished in August and it now became a den. They found the perfect sofa and hutch in a thrift shop. Speakers were rehung and a sound system put together. The tree was purchased and voila! it was Christmas. The house was ready to welcome Molly’s parents for the holidays.
It was an intense time but a good one. We had left the house as if we might be coming home any moment and taking up where we had left off. After 6 weeks of sailing, I now knew that we would not be coming back any time soon. Time to really say good-bye to all of this. We had almost 40 years of living in this house and it defined who we were to a surprising extent. The yard was huge and wild and climbed up a hill, a place where kids could escape and climb and play and dig and create racetracks and rivers. The house spilled out into the backyard in the summer so that it was no problem to have 50 people for a party. Walking the many stairs from the street to the living room to the bedrooms, out to the backyard and up the hill to the garden kept our legs and our hearts strong. It was never really clean but I always thought that it was more for kids to be able to have fun and be creative than to live in a immaculately clean house. There were always projects that needed to be done, and usually were not. There were always fresh herbs and lemons or limes and plums and apricots in the summer. There were always animals, dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, snakes, fish, raccoons, possums and skunks. And the bedroom with 3 walls of glass where we could watch storms over the mountains and the squirrels and birds just outside the window. There was never any place to park and the noise from traffic, fire engines and helicopters was irritating. It was a wonderful house and a difficult house. I never expected to stay there more than a few years and ended staying so long the the grandkids got to climb and dig in the garden. Who knows if we will be back to live there again. If so, we will be very different people, creating something new.
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