Long Time Coming!

It ,has taken a week of false starts, but I've finally found the time to write a posting for my blog. And it has only taken eight months since the last one!! Shame on me.

As you all know, time does fly, especially when you have a three year old in the house. And so, I apologize profusely to the few followers I have left for the huge wait for an update.

What have we been up to in the past eight months, you ask? Plenty, as usual!! Henry has grown in leaps and bounds. I put pants on him last week for the first time since spring, and his size three pants were almost three inches too short! He has been eating huge amounts of food at the dinner table every night only to wake up about three a.m. saying, Mama, I'm hungry! I thought middle of the night snacks were only for pregnant ladies!

Henry keeps us on our toes. He is a very active child, with a very active imagination. It gives me great joy to watch him now that he can entertain himself for an hour or so creating all sorts of scenarios for his various trains, trucks and rescue vehicles. He has sword fights with Daddy, loves the park, the beach and playing golf in our backyard. We have had a great summer here on the island. There is a little amusement park called Centreville that is aimed at the three to seven year old set, and we have made it our destination every Monday with our good friends Nataliea and Lucien (her three year old son).

Summer is our slow season at work, so Henry and I have been Daddy's only helpers at work since spring. It has worked out wonderfully. Henry goes to daycare at a home here on the island on Tuesday and Thursday where they have daily outings to the aforementioned beach, park and amusement park. On Wednesday and Friday he comes to wash cars with me and Andy, playing with his boats in the buckets while we work! He has his favourite secretaries, and loves to deliver the keys with Dad at the end of the workday (which is finished by noon on these hot summer days!) Then we all enjoy the island again for our three day weekends as we don't work on Mondays in the summer. Life is good!

As some of you may know, Andy has been negotiating with the insurance company for quite some time now to get our engine repaired or replaced. We sucked up a garbage bag in the Erie Canal on our maiden voyage, which caused a catastrophic engine overheat. Well, they finally settled!!!!!!!

Andy decided to replace the engine himself for two reasons; 1) he wanted to learn the new engine inside and out, and 2) we are frugal!  I'm glad he has decided to do it himself because I have seen what that man is capable of, and I have more faith in Andy's ability to do the job right than in anyone else!

After two days of working with our local island mechanic Andy has our old engine out! We are waiting for the new engine to arrive and are hoping to get it in the same way the old one came out, without cutting any new holes in our boat!

I still can't believe eight months have passed since I last posted! So making a long story short...New Years Eve was spent at another great party at the Heathcote's, complete with a Beatles tribute band! The winter was mild, and easy for us live aboards!  Easter was fun, as Henry loved the whole idea of the Easter Bunny, and had an egg hunt here on the boat and joined in the huge egg hunt through the woods on the island! Our move back to the island was uneventful and happened as planned on May 1st. The spring and summer have been lovely, although a little too hot for this winter lover, and a little too dry for the grass and the water level!! We will be out of our slip for the remainder of the season, as it got shallower and shallower and there is only so far you can back up on a dock! It's a good thing the water is a little deeper further down the lagoon!

Well, that's all I can think of to tell you for now. I will try hard to find the time to blog again soon, but have learned that I'd best not make any promises!

 It's hard to get our boy to smile for the camera these days, he has developed a real aversion for some reason. This was one of the few times he actually said, "Cheese!"

The family Oakes.

 Henry playing jack-in-the-box in his built in toy box!

Daddy looks great in Henry's swim goggles and bicycle helmet!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is so much more fun with a three year old! Henry was much more excited this year. As I was lying in bed awake on Christmas morning, I heard him climb out of his bed, creep into the livingroom and say, "Wowww!!!!" Then he ran down the hall and said, "Mommy, come and see all the toys Santa brought!" It made my day.

We had a busy December, with me singing in a Christmas concert, Henry doing a dance recital, and the usual hustle and bustle that comes with the season. It's amazing how time just seems to go faster and faster the older I get. Mom and Dad warned me this would happen! So before we knew it, Christmas was upon us.

Our tradition is to spend Christmas Eve and morning at home, and then off to see the family. After a few whirlwind days of visiting in Peterborough we have settled back in and are looking forward to another tradition...the New Year's Eve party at the Heathcote residence! This party is unbelievable! Sue and Geoff move their furniture into the garage to host this yearly shindig complete with a live band, bar, dance floor and potluck feast! It is well attended by the folks at Queen City Yacht Club, and we haven't missed one yet! What better way to ring in the New Year than dancing with your sweetheart and sipping champagne amongst friends?

With another year drawing to a close, I wish you all health and happiness, and most of all, love!

Hallowe'en

We let Henry decide what to dress as for Hallowe'en, and then go about putting together a homemade costume. This has been great fun, and his firefighter costume last year was a big success! This year Henry decided to be Bob the Builder, and so we gathered up his toy tools, toolbelt and most builder like clothes and found our only purchase needed to be a hardhat. I searched high and low for a hardhat throughout October, and finally found one at A Buck or Two! So for only $2.00 our little builder was all set!

We Trick or Treated on the island again this year, but changed our strategy a little. In the past we have done our rounds on Wards Island. They go all out for Hallowe'en, decorating their houses and wearing costumes to give out candy. Unfortunately boat loads of kids come over from the city and so Wards Island is overrun with kiddies!! Algonquin Island, on the other hand, is far enough from the ferry docks that the city kids don't know it's there. Our neighbours on Algonquin were thrilled to see Henry, and gave him the royal treatment! They told him how great he looked, and gave him oodles of candy! Our friend Dawn went so far as to give Henry all of the Smarties in her bowl, since Smarties are his very favourite!!

We had a wonderful time, and the ten houses he visited before he tuckered out yeilded more than enough Hallowe'en candy to see him through until Christmas.

Six Months on the Island

I can't believe it has been six months since I last posted! Well, it was a great six months!!

Andy, Henry and I had a wonderful summer on the island. The weather was perfect, and for the first time in several years we didn't have much on the go! It was one of those summers where time passes slowly and the lazy days run one into another.

This season Andy and I started a date night tradition. We did not miss one single event at QCYC this year, where as last year we didn't attend more than one because we stayed home with Henry after bedtime. Starting in May we hired a wonderful island teenager named Zoe to sit with Henry after he went to bed most Saturday nights. We would dress up and go out dancing most of those nights. The club is known for its great events, and as I said, we didn't miss one! It's really wonderful to rekindle our romance after two years home with Henry!

Another step in Henry's independence was putting him in a home daycare two days a week. There is a phenomenal woman on the island named Yolanda who has been doing daycare for almost 30 years in that community. She has six kids a day, all aged one to five. She takes them on daily excursions, including the beach, the park, and even Centreville Amusement Park!!

We knew it was time to get Henry into daycare when I would take him to the park and he wouldn't want to play if there were other kids there! There was certainly an adjustment period getting used to being without Momma every minute of every day, but once he was used to the routine Henry grew leaps and bounds. He has three best friends at daycare, and looks forward to going. The freedom this has allowed me has been incredible! Henry goes there Monday and Wednesday. Andy and I enjoy date day on Monday (usually sleeping in, followed by lunch and a matinee!), and I have a day all to myself on Wednesday! What more could a mother ask for?!

I think this time apart is partially responsible for the wonderful relationship Henry and I have enjoyed lately. We had our own share of island excursions, enjoying Centreville, the beach, the farm, and countless hours at the park. Toronto Island is such an ideallic place to grow up!

Unfortunately I don't have a lot of pictures from this summer, as our camera met an untimely death when it took a swim! I have finally replaced it, but much of the past few months went undocumented.

Henry is growing up so fast! He seems so much older than his years. He has an incredible imagination. Hours are spent playing cars, restaurant, pretending to be dogs, cats, lions... he is such a joy to watch! And he is so smart!! I met a speech pathologist this summer who was visiting for the weekend at QCYC and rafted off of our boat. She told me that Henry was speaking at a four to five year old level. His vocabulary and sentence structure is great, and he asks the most incredible questions! What a kid. I'm a proud Momma, can you tell?

We've settled back into Pier 4 now for the winter. As wonderful as the island is in the fair weather, I wouldn't enjoy the inconvenience of it in the dead of winter. I was ready for the move, and am really enjoying the freedom of running to the store and back without always running for a boat. The ferries are great, but I wouldn't call them convenient!!

I'm back into my seasonal nesting phase, cooking stews and roasts and baking cakes. I've started Christmas shopping, and am really looking forward to celebrating the season at home on the boat with my little family.

Wishing peace, health and happiness to you and yours.

Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

As Henry gets a little older, I'm really enjoying our outings more and more. This spring we have enjoyed the time honoured classic adventure...taking a toddler to the zoo!

After visiting both the zoo in Peterborough and the Toronto Zoo I feel compelled to draw comparisons.

When we went to the zoo in Peterborough we spent the first hour playing in the playground. Henry had a ball running, climbing, swinging, sliding and driving on all sorts of fun equipment. Then my brother, Dave, and sister-in-law Crystal joined us with their four month old baby Abigail and we all took a leisurely stroll around the lovely shaded paths taking in the animal exhibits. The animals are not overly varied, nor exotic, but there is a lovely collection of animals ranging from reindeer, snakes and buffalo to camels, monkeys and otters. The park was very quiet when we were there. We passed other visitors along the paths, but rarely had to share an exhibit. The animals are behind fences, but can be viewed well for the full length of their enclosures. The overall experience was fun and relaxing.

More recently we visited the Toronto Zoo. If you haven't seen this zoo in awhile, let me advise you to pack your best walking shoes, plenty of sunscreen, lots of snacks, and a good hat.

The animals at the Toronto Zoo are many and varied. They have a huge map covering many of the animals from around the world, with different areas for Africa, Canada, the Americas, and Eurasia and Australia. In the course of one, or maybe two, days you can see the wide world of animals, all under one roof, so to speak. But you will walk, and walk, and walk. With our friends Stacy and Desi, Henry and I walked for almost seven hours and still did not see the zoo in its entirity. The crowds are large, so be prepared to wait for a good look through the glass at the animals in each exhibit.

Stacy and I packed a lot of snacks for our trip, and I'm really glad we did. First of all, you need a lot of fuel to walk for seven hours!! Secondly, the prices are high and the crowds are thick if you want to purchase snacks from the various vendors throughout the park.

I know that the small town zoo experience is bound to be different from the big city zoo, but I guess what surprised me was how much more I enjoyed the former.

The other big difference was in the cost of these outings. The Riverview Park and Zoo in Peterborough costs...wait for it...nothing! The Toronto Zoo was a whopping $23.oo per adult admission, and an extra $10.00 for parking. Their are a lot of extras at the Toronto Zoo that will cost you as well. The carousel costs extra, animal rides cost extra, the manta ray exhibit where you can pet the manta rays, well, that costs extra too. The only thing you can pay for at the Peterborough zoo is a train ride. I haven't been on it lately but I believe it would cost us less than $10.oo for our little family of three to ride this train for about 20 minutes. Not too much to pay for a wonderful day out at the zoo.

Why Life on a Boat?

I recently had the pleasure of spending a weekend away with two of my girlfriends. We are trying to make this an semi-annual event as it is always a lot of fun and serves to recharge us for our daily lives.

While away with the girls there was a recurring theme in our conversations. 'Why in the world would I chose to live on a boat?' It started with the question, 'How long do you plan to do this?' My answer was, as it always is, 'As long as we're having fun'. Jennifer asked me many questions over the course of the weekend about the various inconveniences of my life, such as ferry service, laundry rooms, dinghys and just the general day to day affair of getting Henry and I to and from the city with a stroller, groceries and the like. By Sunday she said, 'I haven't heard anything that sounds like fun yet!' I do believe I left her with an impression of hardship which in no way reflects the zest of my life.

So...why do I enjoy living on a boat? Nature is a big reason. If you plan your vacations around camping, you'll understand. I live with the convenience of the biggest city in the country, and the serenity of quiet island life. I step out my door in the morning and watch the swans swim by. Henry and I step off the dock and walk the dogs in a park setting with no cars, where Henry can ride his car or run and play amongst trees and flowers and birds. We go to the park, two minutes from our boat, and while Henry plays I breathe in the fresh air and admire the view. Trees, water, and a beautiful city skyline, too far away to feel the hustle and bustle.

I have never enjoyed, nor thrived on decorating. This is another reason why boat life is perfect for me. With the exception of a couple of pictures and some bedding choices, there is zero decorating to be done. This gives us more time to enjoy the great outdoors!

I think there is an inherent peace that settles on your soul when you're near the water. Living on a boat you are surrounded by this serenity. You are rocked to sleep in your bed ever so gently (most nights!) and every day you come home to that peaceful feeling.

These are all reasons to enjoy life aboard, and that's just when we're at the dock! Travelling by sailboat is an experience like no other. You don't get anywhere fast, but the journey is incredible. You travel with your home on your back, going about your daily life, while enjoying the sun and the sea along the way. I believe that the coastal cities are some of the most wonderful in the United States. These historical cities are timeless beauties.

Now you may say, 'I understand summer life aboard, but what about those Canadian winters?' Even I have to admit that spring, summer and autumn are favourable, but even winter aboard has its perks. Living in a small space year round gets us out of our home every single day. I'm hearty enough to brave the coldest of winter weather, and we live in the biggest city in the country! There is always somewhere to go, and something to do. Virtually everything is within walking distance (which helps to keep me fit!) and even on the coldest days, it is steps to an indoor path system that travels under all of the streets and buildings in the heart of downtown. It's like one incredibly big shopping centre that takes you from just north of the lakeshore seven blocks north to Dundas St.

When all is said and done, the minor inconveniences of life on a boat are so heavily outweighed by the joy I find in doing it that I can't see any other life for me in the foreseeable future.

A Canadian Winter Aboard

I've had gentle reminders from my friends down south that I have been slow to update my blog, so here's a little taste of our winter adventures for William and Judy in Florida.

Our boat is snugly wrapped in plastic, looking more like a covered wagon than a boat. We're keeping quite cozy inside with the help of five electric heaters. It has taken a lot of trial and error using extension cords and pony panels for Andy to find the delicate balance between internal and external power sources so that I no longer have to turn off heaters to run the water heater or kettle or microwave. Of course I still can't run all three at once!

This winter has been on the extreme side, with overnight temperatures regularly reaching -20C (-4F) and several storms yeilding 9" of snow in 24 hours. The snow has been here to stay since before Christmas. Despite all of this I continue to love living aboard. I said to Andy just the other day that I couldn't picture us living in a house. This lifestyle suits me perfectly. Besides, after living aboard Sassy II last winter, Island Eclipse feels more like a condo on the water than a boat! There's room for Henry to run up and down the hall (giggling all the way!). My fridge is big enough to shop weekly! We have our own bedroom, the dogs have their own bed, and Henry is down the hall, through the salon and all the way at the front of the boat in his very own bedroom! Life is good!

Henry's is a deep thinker. He comes out with some of the funniest things! We were eating dinner one day last week, and Andy and I had salads. Henry doesn't like salad, but loves croutons, so he had a sprinkling of croutons on his plate. When he got down to the last one he looked at me with all sincerity and said, " he's wondering where his friends are." What a way to ask for more croutons! He was in the washroom with Andy and flushed the unused toilet. Andy told him not to flush unless he had used it because it is a waste of water. Henry said, "That's a funny word, flush. Flush! Flush! Flush!" It's hard to believe he just turned two! If you tell him he's funny, he'll say, "Sometimes." I could go on and on about that kid. He's really something.

In other news, I have a new neice! My brave sister-in-law had her at home. Abigail Anne Francey was born, in the bathtub at home, January 6th at 9:00pm weighing 8bs 2oz. She is a beautiful little girl, and I'm a very proud Auntie!! My hat is off to Crystal for her bravery/craziness in bringing her baby into this world without medical intervention. Wow.

I was also reminded by William that our friends in warmer climates don't see the same things we do. Yesterday we saw our neighbouring policemen doing rescue exercises in our basin. They were slithering along the ice on their bellies to try to pull their team mates out of the frigid water without plunging in themselves. The ice is treacherous in this basin because the ten boats docked here each have a couple of bubblers drawing warm water up from the bottom to keep the ice from forming around our hulls. Unfortunately I didn't think to take pictures of the policemen in their extreme weather suits bobbing in the freezing water. It was quite a sight.

Speaking of extreme weather suits, poor Henry looks a lot like the little brother on that movie 'A Christmas Story' a lot of the time these days. He is bundled up in snow pants, snow boots, long sleeves, a sweater, a down jacket, a hat, and mitts, and sometimes I even add a blanket and his plastic cover to his stroller! Poor kid can hardly move....but he's warm! Most days, though, we skip the snow pants and just wear long-johns instead. :)

Well, that's about all for now, but I will keep you up to date a little more diligently, I swear!
Keep warm until next time.

Happy Holidays!

Winter is rolling right along. I can't believe it's the 4th of January already!

Christmas was a lot of fun. Now that Henry is a little older he can get into the celebrations. He wrote a letter to Santa Claus asking for a big, red fire truck and some new cars. Our lucky little boy got two new fire trucks and lots of cars, trucks and a wide array of other new toys! We were busy, as usual, travelling to Kitchener on December 23rd, home again Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, then off the Peterborough for two nights. Henry thoroughly enjoyed the new toys, but was a little overwhelmed by all of the company and travel. By Boxing Day he just wanted to go home. Can't blame him, really. It's a hectic time for us grown-ups, too.

Andy has been busy, busy, busy! When he hasn't been at work he has been working on the boat, and helping our neighbours wrap their boats for the winter. We finally have our cover up, and wow is it a big enclosure!! Andy basically built a full height house on top of the deck! Lots of room for all of the deck work he has planned, whenever he can find some time!

We treated ourselves to a few home improvements over Christmas, putting up some pictures, installing a new faucet and new cabinet hardware in the galley, and a new mattress for our bed! It's amazing how much this boat feels more like a condo in the water than a boat. We've been incredibly happy and at home here.

Our Henry is about to turn two. Hard to believe, isn't it? The time just flew!! He is quite the little man. His vocabulary is incredible, and his sentences are now complete with correct grammar, tenses and all! What a clever boy!! He is a little under the weather this week, and yesterday told me, "I'm not feeling up to going to the grocery store, Mommy." He is such a joy to be with. I feel so blessed.

I hope that 2011 brings just as much fun as 2010! Wishing all of you a wonderful, happy and healthy New Year!!

Our Little Fireman

Hallowe'en was much anticipated at our place. We have started preparing Henry for upcoming events by talking about them a lot ahead of time. This seems to work well for everything from having a babysitter to taking the train to Nana and Poppa's house. Hallowe'en was no exception.

I asked him a couple of weeks ahead of time if he would like to be a fireman for Hallowe'en. He agreed whole heartedly! My inspiration was his love of firetrucks and the fireman raincoat he already had hanging in his closet.

As the big day approached I got Henry a fireman's helmet and pumpkin bucket to carry. We taught him how to say 'trick-or-treat' (which came out 'ko-keat') and told him about costumes and candy. He could hardly wait!

On the big day I put electrical tape around his yellow rubber boots to make them into fireman's boots, found a pair of pants to match the coat, and smudged some mascara soot on his nose and cheeks. He looked perfect!

We had dinner at Whit and Ally's place and trick-or-treated on Ward's Island. There is no better place to go...no cars, plenty of houses decorated for the occasion, and everyone knows everyone. Perfect. Henry had a great time, and didn't even fall asleep on the way like he did last year!!

It's amazing how all of the holidays come alive for you again when you have a little kid seeing it afresh. What fun!

Autumn on the Island

I don't know if it's the changing of the seasons or the way my little boy is growing up so fast, but lately I have found myself very contemplative.

Spending the vast majority of my time with Henry has been a very rewarding experience. He has taught me so much!

Another name for toddler should definitely be Dawdler! Henry spends a lot of time riding his car around the island. He seems to have two speeds...fast and stop! Some days I carry a book with me so that I have something to keep me occupied while he is stopped, but the other day I thought, 'why not stop and take it all in, too?', so I looked at the sky, listened to the rustling of the leaves, and smelled autumn on the wind. It was so rejuvenating to take the time to just be. Henry has taught me that old cliche, stop and smell the roses!

Over the past six months Henry's imagination has really taken off. It is so much fun to just pretend together! He has the language skills now to explain what it is we're playing, whether it's that I'm the Algonquin Queen (QCYC's Tender) and he's sitting on my lap driving across to the city, or he's making me eggs in the 'kitchen' we've built at the park, oh and 'here's your fork, Mum!' I chose early on to keep Henry's TV time to almost nil, and I feel that these are the times that it really shows. He keeps busy all day with his various games and made up adventures. I think it's truly wonderful!

I really can't believe how quickly my little man is growning! He looks and acts like he's well over two, and has such a quiet, thoughtful demeanor. Sometimes it feels like he's a wise old man in a toddler's body. I don't know if this is a Capricorn trait, or if it's just Henry, but he's an incredible little man. I love being in his company. You never know what he'll say next!

This is such a wonderful time in our lives. I'm so lucky that Andy has worked so hard to make sure that I can spend the formative years with Henry. Sure, we'd have more money if I went back to work, but living the simple life and sharing it with Henry has been invaluable!

I just feel so blessed.

Home Again, Home Again

After a very eventful three and a half weeks we have safely arrived home to Queen City Yacht Club. Hooray!!

We ended our trip on a high note. It took a long time to re-rig and re-wire after the mast went back up, so after a long, busy day we set out across the lake at 11:00pm. Andy really enjoys the overnight sailing, so he was happy to do his watch alone with 20-30 minute naps between his look out. All went well until the seas got a little lumpy in the middle of the night and Henry woke up sea-sick at 4:00am. He and I went outside into the cockpit for some fresh air and gave Andy an hour long sleep while Henry played happily and I kept watch. By 8:00am when we awoke again the seas were much smoother and we had a wonderful day! Andy took a two hour nap to refresh a bit and then we enjoyed the rest of the much anticipated sail home together. I didn't realize just how stressful this trip had been for him until I saw Andy doing a 'happy dance' on deck when he spotted the CN Tower!

After all of the experience I got on the helm doing 31 locks, Andy insisted that I be the one to dock her at home. It went beautifully, and I slid her into our slip to the sound of cheers from the lady yacht club members watching from the club. I've come a long way since that ugly attempt at our first anchoring with Sassy!! Andy is an excellent teacher.

Island Eclipse drew a few curious members of the club over for a tour on Saturday night, and so many Sunday morning that it felt like we were at the boat show! That's okay, we didn't mind a bit. I was so proud of Henry. He has really come out of his shell lately, and with his ever increasing vocabulary he was happy to give everyone a narrated tour of the boat...starting with his room, of course!

So we've been home two full days now, and spent today unpacking all of our stuff from the locker. I'm tuckered right out and off to bed shortly. We'll have another big day tomorrow, as Andy is back to work and Henry and I will be entertaining my Mom and Dad for the day. It will be great to see them again after almost six weeks. I'm sure they'll see a big change in Henry.

Oh, and I was able to post these pictures because they were emailed to us today from Mary Martha, a really sweet lady we met in Catskill Creek. Thanks, Mary Martha! We also found my battery charger today in the locker! What a relief!! So, more to come, pictures and all.

Through the Erie and Oswego Canals

Our trip is coming to a close. We arrived today in Oswego, NY on the south east end of Lake Ontario. It took us five days in total to get through the Erie and Oswego Canals.

Day one was fairly uneventful, we got an early start, did the first seven locks with little incidence, and arrived at Lock 8 to find it closed as they were having technical problems with the lock. We tied up for the night on the wall below the lock. It was in a very secluded area, so we enjoyed a quiet evening and dinner on the boat. We really noticed the seclusion, though, after dark when every bump in the night had us jumpy! It's amazing how you get used to the noise of civilization!

Day two we travelled from Lock 8 to Lock 16. We had initially worried about doing the locks without extra crew. Our worries were unfounded, as we handled the locks like old pros. We had Henry in his lifejacket with a tether to the binacle, and he was told that in the locks Henry's job is to look after Henry so Mommy and Daddy can look after the boat. It worked! He's getting to be such a big boy! We tied up for the night on the wall below Lock 17, the biggest in the canal system. We were next to the town of Little Falls, and set out to walk to the nearest store. After about half a mile, though, we discovered that it was unrealistic to go that far without a stroller. Henry likes to walk, but not when you need him to! We met a rock climber, though, who offered to drive Andy to town after he conquered his rock. He was really nice, and Andy was able to pick up a few essentials and bring back MacDonald's pies and sundaes to boot!

Day three was to be Lock 17 through to Lake Oneida...didn't happen as planned. There must have been a lot of muck in the water around the lock because we sucked enough of it in to clog both the engine strainer and the thru-hull. The raw water intake was clogged enough that the pump ran dry and caused the impeller to fail. After Lock 17 we managed to go only a mile to the nearest marina, where Andy spent the day travelling around searching for a replacement impeller, then installing it and a T valve so he could flush out the thru-hull and get us up and running yet again! He had a few choice words for the boat by this time! He even threatened to burn her to the ground. Not our best day, but, on the bright side, they had hydro hook-up and nice hot showers and Henry and I got a quiet day to rest and recover from our colds.

Day four we were underway and running beautifully. We got through Locks 18 - 22 and stopped for the day on the east side of Oneida Lake. We had dinner at a little bar and grill with some fellow Canadian sailors. Of course they are headed in the right direction for this time of year, South!! After dinner Henry and I took a walk and found a little park to play in. It was a lovely day until I had to retire early with a migraine. The cloudy unsettled weather is getting to me.

Day five...today...We crossed Lake Oneida with 3-4 foot following seas. The boat handled it with ease and we arrived at the west end of the lake ahead of schedule. We decided to skip the fuel stop after the lake and just get through the Oswego as we thought we'd be hard pressed to make it by the five o'clock lock closing time. Oops! We ran out of fuel between the first two locks on Oswego. Luckily Andy had 12 gallons on deck in geri-cans. He fueled us up in the pouring rain and bled the system like a pro. We were only drifting for about 10 minutes in total. I really am proud of my Handy Andy! Don't know what I'd do without him. So we got through the rest of the locks, turns out they were closer together than charted in the canal book so we were done by 4:00! We tucked into the Oswego Yacht Club and called it a day. Dinner was delivered by a local Italian restaurant and we are all tuckered out and ready for bed.

Tomorrow we have an appointment at the Marina across the channel for mast stepping, and then it's off across Lake Ontario. We have a two day window of fair weather, so I think we're going to skip the originally planned stop in Cobourg and just head straight for Toronto. It's about 125 miles across, so if we do an overnight Friday night we should be in mid-day on Saturday and have a day or two to rest before it's back to work for Andy.

When we started this journey Andy said we'd be two weeks, which to me meant three...and he says to him meant probably four. It will be four weeks on Tuesday since we left. Not too bad, I guess, and we got a new home out of it, not to mention a whole lot of memories!

Without Bad Luck...

We have arrived at the south end of the Erie Canal system in Waterford. I am delighted to find wireless internet here, and so will endeavour to catch up the blog on our adventures thus far.

I'm sorry to say that the pictures from this trip are nonexistant, as I have managed to misplace the charger for my camera battery. Andy says I should throw in a few pictures of the Hudson from last year's trip, it hasn't changed much! I did manage to get the few interior pictures of Island Eclipse that I've posted here just before the battery died. This was, as it turned out, the first of many system failures on this journey.

After two nights of living on dry dock in Deale, just outside of Annapolis, we were finally splashed. Living out of the water sure is hot in this weather, so I was thrilled to be back in the water. About an hour later I was trying to flush the forward head and was having no luck. Andy checked the bilge and discovered that we were taking on water at a rather alarming rate! The leak seemed to be through a thru-hull in the forward bilge...and the bilge pump was not running! Andy found a spare bilge pump (hmmm....I wonder why George had that onboard...) and installed in quickly. He was able to tighten the thru-hull enough to slow the leak and get the newly installed bilge pump to keep up with the flow. Phew! Good thing he's so handy!!

And so the next thing we knew we were back out of the water! We spent another night on dry dock so Andy could install a new gadget in the leaky thru-hull, fixing the leak and adding a transducer at the same time. He also peeled some paint off of the speed meter on the hull and got it functioning again.

When we got underway at last, our first day's plan was to travel up Chesapeake Bay from Deale to the C & D Canal. We motored up the Bay, as the wind was on the nose. We really enjoyed the first couple of hours...then the engine started to sputter! We were losing power quickly! I am so thankful that Andy is so resourceful, he went to work diagnosing the problem and was able to get the engine running well enough to finish the day. We docked in Chesapeake City for the night, and carried on the few miles to Summit North Marina the next morning.

Boating is definitely not for the Type A person who plans out their trip! Something always comes up and delays always happen. We spent three days at Summit North Marina. There was a hurricane tracking up the east coast, so even without the boat repairs we would have been holed up there for awhile. It was a great hurricane hole, though! Very sheltered.

So Andy had several days to work on the engine trouble. The marina had a complimentary shuttle service that we took advantage of several times to get parts and groceries. By the time we were ready to head out again we had restocked, done laundry, fueled up, pumped out and changed the racor and the fuel filters and reprimed the engine. Andy also cleaned out the bilges and purchased an emergency bilge pump to keep on hand.

Andy, being the kind, considerate guy he is, helped repair the engine on a neighbouring boat at the marina, and in thanks the boat owner Brad invited us to spend the next night at his marina in Cape May. So on Saturday we set out bright and early for our trip through the C&D Canal and down Delaware Bay. The weather following the hurricane made for quite the adventure! The winds were about 30 knots (our wind gauge isn't working), and the seas were 3-4 foot and following when we entered Delaware Bay. The further south in the bay we got the wider it got and the rougher the seas got! We were in 8-10 foot seas by the time we got to the turn off for the Cape May Canal! We sailed down the bay at 9 knots with the staysail, a triple reefed main, and the engine off. It was a lovely time, with the only casualty being our littlest sailor. Henry got sea-sick and he and I wore it. Ugh!

Since Henry was feeling ill we decided to enter Cape May Canal instead of rounding the Cape outside. The fixed bridges were charted to be 55' at high tide. Our mast height is 55', so we figured we'd be okay....storm surge, who thinks of storm surges? Needless to say, we hit the first bridge with our mast! Luckily Andy was a little leary and approached the bridge at idle speed, with the boat in reverse. The second we hit he was backing out! He climbed the mast to check the damage. Our wind meter was knocked clear off, but we were otherwise unscathed. So, despite Henry's poor tummy we had to head back out into the rough stuff and circle Cape May to approach from the east. I gave him another dramamine tablet (Gravol) and he slept blissfully through it. We did, however, experience more intermittent engine trouble!

Brad's invitation included our mooring fees for the night, as well as participation in their marina's Labour Day festivities. There was a live band and pot luck dinner. A fun time was had by all, but we called it a night pretty early after the day we had! The next morning there was a 'dock master's breakfast' being served, complete with bacon, eggs, fruit, coffee, juice...the works. We were refueled and ready to go! Andy got a ride to West Marine before we left so he could pick up more fuel filters and additives, as he suspected that we stirred up some muck in the fuel tank when we rolled in the rough seas, leading to the reappearance of our engine issues.

We left Cape May around 3:00pm with the plan to go as far as Atlantic City. That would have been about a five hour trip just off the Atlantic Coast. We talked about it while we were underway, though, and decided that since the weather forecast looked good for the next couple of days we should just keep going and do an overnight to New York. The engine continued to give us issues, and neither of us enjoyed Atlantic City much last year. We certainly didn't want to get stuck there for any length of time this year! And so we saw Atlantic City come and go in the distance as the sun set. Henry and I took Gravol and went to bed and Andy planned to sleep in 1/2 hour intervals while the autopilot helmed the boat. There isn't a lot of action a couple of miles off shore in the Atlantic overnight, so you get up, look around, and go back to sleep if you don't see any other boats. Unfortunately Henry and I went to bed and the invertor stopped working, so the batteries died and took the autopilot down with them! Poor Andy had to stay awake at the helm all night alone! Needless to say, he was exhausted by morning! When Henry and I got up we were just coming into New York Harbour. Andy took a three hour nap as I motored us up the Hudson River. We continued up the river another 50 miles to Torches on the Hudson, our favourite restaurant from last year's trip. We did a total of 180 miles in 28 hours! Our new boat sure is faster than Sassy was!

We had three nights at Torches, enjoying their wonderful food and nice atmosphere while Andy emptied, scrubbed and serviced the fuel tank and had the alternator rebuilt. Henry really enjoyed Torches' beautiful, 25 foot aquarium. I really enjoyed eating out for a few days, and taking advantage of the lovely, clean showers at the marina next door. We took the $5.00 flat rate cabs around Newburgh several times for parts and a Walmart run, and by day three were ready to go again. The engine was finally bug free and purring like a kitten.

The run from Torches to Catskill Creek was easy and uneventul at last! Andy commented on how nice it was to finally have a day free of maintenance! We just enjoyed the ride. In Catskill Creek we found a nice park for Henry, a dog park for Buddy and Charlie, laundry facilities, showers, and met some nice people. Andy spent a full day prepping to take the mast down, and after two nights at Riverview Marina we were ready to step the mast. This morning the mast came down and went on deck with no incidences, and we set out for Waterford and our first lock.

We had another nice day today. The weather has gotten warmer and sunnier than it's been in a few days, and we didn't have any more issues with the boat. We did, however, arrive at the visitor's centre in Waterford only to discover that they aren't accepting transient boats this weekend as it's their annual Tugboat Festival! Again, it's a good thing that Andy is so friendly! After speaking to a few Tugboat Captains he arranged for us to raft up to a Tugboat for the night!! I wish I could take a picture!!!! Here we are rafted up to a 76 ft tugboat, surrounded by tugboats of all sizes alongside tents and vendors of all sorts! There was a live band and a fireworks display to top it all off. We sure do find adventures!

Well, I've finally caught us up to today's events. I'm bushed and off to bed. More soon, as soon as we have another internet connection! Until then, fair winds!

Life Aboard Island Eclipse!

Another adventure is underway. It has been a very busy few weeks. Andy has been a man obsessed with finding us a bigger boat. He has travelled as far as Maryland and Florida in search of the perfect new home, and has spent countless hours on the internet researching and reviewing virtually every prospect on the market. Once we had decided on the boat for us we needed to sell Sassy II. At last our plan has come together.

Sassy II sold a little over a week ago, and with the money in the bank we packed up all of our things (some in storage, some into a van) and once again set off for a great adventure. We left Toronto on Tuesday, August 24th at 12:00pm. Andy, Henry, Buddy and Charlie and I all climbed into our friend Doug's van, along with Doug and all of our belongings for the trip. Doug drove us to Buffalo, where we had a car rental reservation to take us the rest of the ten hour drive to Annapolis, Maryland where Island Eclipse, our new Gulfstar 44 awaited our arrival.

The trip was a little rough. Our rental car was an SUV with an incredibly squishy suspension. The constant roll made Henry car sick. The poor kid couldn't keep much down. With his budding vocabulary we were hearing a lot of, "sick!". Unfortunately, for one of the first times ever, we were very organised before embarking on the adventure and we prebooked a hotel room online through the inexpensive, but non-refundable Hotwire. This meant that we had to press on to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania the first day despite Henry's car sickness. With added stops for fresh air and clean up we didn't arrive at the hotel until almost midnight! Poor kid!!

Wednesday was a better day, as we only had two hours left to drive. With a continental breakfast in our freshly showered bellies we were feeling rejuvinated and ready to go. Henry got sick, yet again, but he is such a trooper that we were able to press on and arrive at the boat yard before noon.

Island Eclipse had been out of the water for three months, ever since we told her owner George that we wanted to buy her. He had a fresh coat of paint applied to the bottom following some blister repairs, and there she sat on her jacks looking pretty.

Three months worth of dust and dirt, combined with a bachelor's housekeeping habits left us with quite a load of cleaning to do. We spent the next two days working nonstop, between scrubbing and shopping for our trip we fell into bed each night!

Today the work was finished, Island Eclipse was dropped back into the water, and we were able to sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labour. She really is a lovely boat. Sassy II was great, and I loved her, but she was pretty small for a live-aboard. I didn't realize how small until now. Our new home is just that, a home. We have two bedrooms, not just two beds, but actual rooms! We have two bathrooms, ensuite to each bedroom. Andy tells me that he'll share Henry's so I can have my very own! Wow, living with a man, a boy and two male dogs on a boat I never dreamed I'd have a ladies' room! The kitchen is much larger than Sassy's, and the fridge is a dream! If there was one thing I hated about living aboard Sassy II it was the itty bitty little fridge! My new fridge is 4x the size and so much more accessible! If you live on a boat you'll understand the luxury of this. I also no longer have an icebox. No more ice, no more drainage, no more smell! Hooray!! The main salon (livingroom) is quite large, and quite cosy at the same time. As you may have noticed, I'm extremely happy with our new home.

We did have one minor hiccop today, though! It could have been major had Andy not been the smart and resourceful problem solver he is. About an hour after being launched this morning we noticed that we were taking on water! The bilge was filling quite rapidly, and the bilge pump wasn't coming on...yikes! Andy was able to find and solve the leak and install a new bilge pump within a very short amount of time. Thank goodness, sinking our new boat on day one was not an option!!

Henry seems very happy with his new home. He has slept with me for way too long now, and so a couple of weeks before we came on this adventure Andy and I started to tell Henry all about it, including his very own new room! We took him shopping on Tuesday and bought his Cars bedding, then set all of his toys up on his shelves. We installed a bed rail and a monitor for safety, and Henry was all set to have some new found independance. His transition into his own bed has been unimaginably easy. It has only been two nights, but he has slept right through, not missing me a bit, both nights! Hooray! I'm finally back where I belong, with Andy! The dogs have been kicked out of the bed for good, too. Our bed is too high for them to jump onto, and so we've been able to easily enforce our new 'dogs in their own bed' rule. Life is good.

Tomorrow George is meeting with us to go over all of the boat's systems before we embark on our two week journey home. I don't know how often we'll have internet access on the trip, but whenever I can I will give you an update, and failing that I will have plenty to tell in two weeks when we get back to QCYC.

So for now, signing off from Island Eclipse.

Values

Raising a child is a very interesting job. Every day presents you with challenges, with some days certainly being easier than others! The one thing I try to keep in mind every day is that Henry is going to model his behaviour after ours. He is learning how to live and think and be from the ways in which Andy and I interact with him and the world. When I stop to think about it, this is quite an awesome responsibility.

I am happy to say that for the most part we seem to be doing a good job. Henry treats others with respect and kindness. He has a love of nature; collecting leaves, branches and pinecones for the trunk of his little car, but never picking flowers (flowers are to look at and smell, but not pick!). We watch bugs, but never squash them. We hug and kiss and don't hit each other. We are trying to teach Henry to live by the golden rule, 'Treat others as you would like to be treated'. I believe that this one rule will take you far in life.

This is not to say that I never feel frustrated with him. I just try to handle every situation in a way that will teach Henry to be a good person. Instead of yelling at him when he is being a typical independant toddler and doing exactly what I have asked him not to do, I try to correct the behaviour and then when I'm at the end of my rope he hears a lot of, "You're driving me crazy!". The exasperated tone and head shaking for effect usually get him giggling, and then we both feel better.

I always vowed not to yell at or spank my kids. It would be all too easy on the difficult days to lose my temper, but if I can remember the big picture, the frustrations of the moment will pass, the lessons taught by how I handle those moments will last a lifetime.

I am so thankful to have this opportunity. Raising Henry to be a decent human being is the most fulfilling job I can imagine.

Summer Fun

I feel so very lucky to spend our summer on the island! Tourists come in droves on the weekends to enjoy this paradise away from the city. There is a waiting list of dreamers wanting to move onto the island. It really is an idyllic place from May through October, and we get the best of both worlds summering here and wintering on the mainland!

Henry and I have had all sorts of adventures. He has a toy car that he rides everywhere. We spend the better part of every day out and about at the park, on the boardwalk, around the yacht club, and on the beach. We've seen wildlife from frogs to otters to a wide variety of birds. We've even made new friends. I love having Henry's childhood spent enjoying the simpler things in life.

I continue to enjoy every moment of the freedom Andy has provided me with in enabling me to stay home with Henry. I feel so very priviledged to be able to raise my own child in a day and age when 95% of children go to daycare. Henry's capacity to learn is incredible. He is just shy of 18 months old and can say approximately 50 words appropriately and well enough for me to understand him. It is amazing to watch him turn from a dependant infant into a very independant, free thinking, problem solving little boy. He has a great sense of humour, a very active imagination, and a love of the great outdoors. He is sweet and loving, even kissing his stuffed monkey better when he falls on the floor. Henry has just started to try to say, "I love you" and it melts my heart everytime he leans in for a hug and utters these three precious words. Being a mother is more than I could ever have dreamed it would be.

Our search for a new home continues. Andy is hoping to fly to Florida quite soon to look at our latest interests. There is a 50ft Gulfstar that he has his eye on. Everyone is saying that 50 may be too big, but what a home it would be! I will keep you posted on that front.

Having recovered from my recent miscarriage, Andy and I have been talking a lot about the possibility of having another child. We've decided we would definitely like to and so we will try again. I will, of course, keep you posted on that front as well.

Henry is just waking from his nap, so my blogging time has come to an end for today. I will try to write again soon.

One Perfect Child...

A few weeks ago Andy and I were surprised and delighted to find out that we were expecting a second child. It is with great sadness that I announce that we lost this baby to miscarriage.

It has been an incredibly difficult week. I thank God for the strength and support I get from my wonderful husband, and feel so blessed to have our one perfect child.

Island Bound

Time is flying by. It really seems that the older I get the faster the days, weeks and months go.

Henry is 15 months old. He has a great sense of humour and a lot of energy!! I am really enjoying his developing language skills. His vocabulary has expanded to include about 20 words, and his expressive nature means that we are rarely left guessing at what he means. I loved the baby stage, but toddlerhood thus far has proven to be even more enjoyable.

My weight loss challenge has been a success thus far. At our official measurement and weigh-in April 15th I had lost 6 lbs, an inch off of my waist and half an inch from my bust and hips. If I can do the same again by May 15th I will have met my goal to reach my pre-pregnancy size.

The weather has been gorgeous this month. Henry and I are playing outside more and more. He loves the great outdoors! Being the clever little lad that he is, Henry has finally decided that it's a good idea to keep hats and sunglasses on outside too!

Our friend Kim invited us out for an afternoon at Riverdale Park and Zoo with her three month old daughter Sarah. What a great day!! I had no idea this little treasure was buried in the concrete jungle. We had a wonderful time, Henry loved the freedom to run and got a real kick out of the animals that we'd only read about until now. Thanks Kim!

We have officially moved back to the island for the summer. We came over on Friday and enjoyed the weekend at the much more enjoyable island pace. I will miss the convenience of living cityside, but the tranquility of island life makes up for it ten-fold.

Moving Forward

Spring has been great fun! Since I last wrote we have had many memorable outings.

Henry and I went swimming with our friends Caroline and Jacob at their condo. I think Henry will come to love swimming, he has always enjoyed his bath, and after a little coaxing he was kicking his feet like a champ in the big pool!

We have spent a lot of time in Peterborough, and spent one lovely afternoon at the Peterborough Zoo with Uncle Dave, Aunt Crystal and cousin Nathan. Henry loved seeing the animals, and the grand finale was an hour or so spent playing on all of the jungle gyms. It's such a great zoo, and it's so amazing that they have managed to keep admission free for all of these years!

Easter was spent in Kitchener with the Oakes'. Henry loved playing outside in the backyard with the ride on tractor, the sandbox and all of the kids' toys. I think we'll have a great summer playing on the island.

We have been busy, busy, busy preparing for summer. We have had the usual spring cleaning that people in homes have, cleaning out closets, cupboards, deep cleaning all of the nooks and crannies, but after living aboard for the winter we have the outside stuff to contend with too. After much work we have turned our deck back from a mudroom to a functional sailboat again! All of the winter wear is packed and stored, the decks are scrubbed, and the plastic cover is gone! I'd almost forgotten what our boat looked like under the 'covered wagon' getup.

Soon we will be moving back to Queen City Yacht Club on the island for the summer. While I'll miss the convenience of living city side, I will not miss all of the tourists!!!! Since spring has sprung the tourists have come out of the woodwork. They come in droves and stare at us from the overhead bridge like we're part of the attraction! Hey people, we don't stand in your backyard and stare into your homes! Sheesh. So, the island will be a welcome, calm, peaceful existence for the summer.

Henry is cutting teeth again. He just got his 13th and 14th, and is working on his 15th and 16th!! That's a lot of teeth for a 15 month old! Oh well, just the two year molars to go and he's done until they start to fall out and make room for the permanent teeth.

Our sleep issues continue, although we've found that he sleeps better with Daddy than Mommy, so I have had two nights straight of full sleep! Thanks Daddy!!

In other news, we have sold our condo! Hooray! The deal closes in late May, and the buyer is going to keep our tenant, so it has worked out beautifully! I am very excited. The next step will be a huge garage sale to get rid of our three lockers full of stuff! It is all of the stuff that we thought we would like to keep when we moved out of the condo in the first place. Having lived aboard and adopted a simpler lifestyle we have come to realize that we don't need all of that stuff after all. It will be nice to be free of it.

There is a lot of work ahead, but this past week has found us moving forward quite nicely.