And--cue the drumroll--we have power to the freezer!

In early October, we bought a marine-grade freezer at the Annapolis Boat Show.  It's a sizable beast, but we're happy to have it for freezing all the fish that David's going to pull in when we finally set sail ;)  The freezer, combined with the vacuum-sealer, should be a great addition to our new lifestyle.  David spent the better part of today in the cockpit lazarette getting power to The Beast.  It also serves as an extra refrigerator which comes in handy while we're sitting at the marina waiting for the finishing touches to the AIS and SSB (think cold beer....).

Anyway, I digress.  Big accomplishment today: power to the freezer!  This is where David spent most of his day:

Here are all the supporting materials for his caper:

Bits and pieces of wire and plastic

I spent a couple hours doing laundry (ie, knitting while waiting for the laundry) and making a curtain for the hatch in the v berth.  Not very exciting, and definitely not mechanical(!), but useful.  So, when you come visit and sleep in the v berth, the sun won't blind you in the morning :)

Our table becomes a big work space with the protective cover.

Since we can't set sail yet (wires still protruding from the binnacle), it's not bad to sit at the marina on a windless day.  When it's a perfectly windy day, it's a tad frustrating to sit here and see sailboats zipping across the Bay.

The flag was not blowing in the wind today.

Still taking care of business

Well, they say the best advice to a cruiser is "never have a schedule."  In other words, be flexible.  And, flexible we are.  We're still hanging out at Herrington Harbor North on the western side of the Chesapeake Bay.  AIS (sort of like radar -- google it) is getting installed this week which means the place is pulled apart!  Holy smokes.....

David helping Wade pull wires through the boat

Topsy turvy doesn't even begin to explain what it looks like down here!

When the floorboards came up, they unearthed 12 years of dirt.  I, Miss Non-Mechanical, can clean anything!

We found a good luck penny from Trinidad in here :)

Not spotless, but much better!

Also on the non-mechanical to-do list was fixing the button on a cushion.  I have never seen a sewing needle this large, but by golly, it worked well -- and to think it wasn't even the largest one in the package!

Don't have a voodoo doll on board.....  

In the last couple days, David found a home for our new freezer and installed the great Australian grill off the stern.

The cockpit lazarette is HUGE and also serves as the new home for the freezer.

David has cooked one dinner and one breakfast on the grill and has dubbed it The Fire-breathing Dragon :)

We're still waiting for the cold front to move through, but for now, we're just having beautiful autumn weather.  Somehow, some Lake Michigan sand came along for the ride and fell out of my shoe.  Our new vacuum cleaner is quite comical -- looks and feels like a cheap plastic toy -- but it works great!  It was a whopping $19.99.  If the Easy Bake Oven had a mate, it would be this vacuum.

Hilarious, tiny vacuum.

Autumn on the Bay

One week on board and taking care of business

We arrived at Herrington Harbour North on Halloween afternoon just as Virginia Dare was being relaunched.  Since then, we've been hanging out at B dock and ticking things off our to-do list as well as tackling additional and unforeseen tasks........most notably, replacing the freshwater pump.  Nothing like arriving at your new "home," filling the freshwater tank, and turning on the faucet to nary a drip.  Thankfully, David is very knowledgeable and capable and we had running water on Monday.

Saturday and Sunday were spent unloading the car and U-Haul trailer and finding places for everything.  Well, not everything.....a few items are going back to storage in Michigan, a few others went to the FreeCycle bin at the marina, and a few items hit the dumpster.  Someone, and I'm sure you can guess who, brought quite a lot of stuff (much of which was yarn-related).  There is now an "active knitting projects" locker and the rest of my onboard stash is stowed deep in a "dormant yarn" compartment that's not easy to reach.  But I'm happy to report that all the yarn I brought is safely stowed in one of those two locations!

David replacing the fresh water pump in the engine room

So far, I have been assigned two (non-mechanical) tasks: getting our wifi working [check] and having our home port lettering installed on her stern [check].  Mind you, I have been the able-bodied assistant, but David's to-do list is long and technical: registering the boat with various agencies, getting an MMSI number, arranging for AIS installation, installing software, etc.  I'm happy to help, but also happy to take care of domestic things, like laundry :) and replacing all of the non-skid shelf liners.

Using the old shelf liner as a template for the new

Probably my favorite kitchen gadget: the Bodum stainless steel French press

Interior is getting organized

It's very comfy and cozy

Wednesday was a balmy day to wash down the deck

After a month on the hard, there was a lot of bird poo to remove

Peaceful evenings earlier this week

Looking east one evening

And yesterday was spent driving around Annapolis gathering pieces and parts we need before relinquishing our car to Alex on Sunday.  Thank heavens for GPS or we would not have found Vosbury Marine, the local Volvo marine engine dealer.

Happy to buy an air filter for our diesel engine

And always a treat to celebrate our accomplishments and end the day with some bubbles!

Nautical label in these parts!