Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Christmas finally arrived aboard Virginia Dare

Well, our tiny box of holiday decorations was finally pulled out of the depths of the v-berth storage area (hull).  With some fishing line and a little bit of museum putty, we were able to put some festivity on board.........with a whole lot of Christmas music!
Celebrate, not just in 2012, but every year!

Freshly polished Georg Jensen ornaments on the port side

Several favorite ornaments to starboard

Glittery gold stars

"Mama in her kerchief and I in my cap....."

Tree

Partridge in a pear tree

Someone's stocking is excessively large!!

Snowman at the ready in our galley

Holiday towels in the head......have no idea where that rust spot came from!

And, it wouldn't be Christmas without our koala towel from Diana and John!
We will be anchoring out in a secluded cove for the next few days.  Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends!

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Still sittin' on the dock of the bay

Well, here we sit, in the Chesapeake Bay, still troubleshooting/diagnosing our engine issue. For Thanksgiving, we spent a wonderful two weeks in Michigan and Ohio visiting family and friends of the human, canine, and feline variety.  It was really great to catch up with so many people.

So, if you must be stuck somewhere, the Bay isn't a bad place to be, especially when oysters are in season!  These aren't pretty pictures of incredibly blue Bahamian water, which is where we thought we'd be at this time this year, but they're from our 'hood for the time being.

Sunset from our cockpit

Won't take our Sparty flag down -- it's good luck!  

Took Virginia Dare out for a spin last week to test her RPMs -- it was an unseasonably warm and beautiful day!  Unfortunately, the problem persists.

This beauty left Herrington Harbour as we were heading back to our slip.

If we run errands up to Annapolis, we drive by this heart barn.  Always puts a smile on my dial!

I can hear my kids saying, "Mom, really?!"  This is fresh seagull poo floating in the marina with the clouds reflecting.  Two abstract white shapes.......I thought it was pretty cool :)

Crazy purple berries.  Beautiful color on an otherwise gray day!

New dinghy storage rack

Most seasonal sailors have hauled their boats by now.  There are hundreds in the lots here.

Someone with a sense of humor........don't panic!

Found a stand of bamboo.....

.....and a pile of rusting chain

More reflections

We're on D dock.  The old E dock is being replaced with this new one.  We've gotten to watch (and listen to) the progress ;)

Thanks for sharing your oysters, Bud!

All scrubbed and ready for today's happy hour!

Doing the dirty work on the dock

Barnacles

Oh, yum! 
We can even find Two Hearted Ale in little ol' Deale, Maryland!

I polished the seafood forks after we ate.  Have I mentioned that I LOVE to polish silver?

Monday, November 9, 2015

Tick, tock, tick, tock......

While many folks have already left the Chesapeake Bay for points south, we are waiting for some parts to come in later this week.  Most of the countryside has turned brown, but there are still some pockets of color around the marina.  Since the next two days will be rainy, I took a walk this morning while our laundry was tumbling and captured some fall beauty and late summer blooms......a little bit of color and texture.

Last night's peachy sunset




Stowed for winter

This is what a blue tarp looks like after it disintegrates and blows off a boat :(

I love barns and found one adjacent to the marina....

...and another one across the field






Stopped by the playground



Why does one flower remain when all others have withered? 













And as I type this, the rain is pitter-pattering on our boat.  Time to hunker down for the evening.  Cribbage anyone??