December 12, 2024 (Completed Dec 19, 2024)

You were left with us heading back to New Mexico in, what was in June? We started out with a smooth landing home, relaxed, chilling and just enjoying the big house. All was good and the easiest transition back from the boat we’d had. I won’t get it all in the right order, and won’t try to sort it. The past 6 months.

Greg

We lost my ex-brother-in-law Greg a bit unexpectedly. He had various health problems, but we did not really expect it quite at this point. He was a year younger than I. Another reason to live for today! My sister Julia decided to administer his estate which added some complexity to our lives as we helped her sort his home(s) and life. To complicate things further, his father Dixon passed away a month later. Dixon was in his 90’s and had lived a full life so one can only be envious of his tenure.

Nikki

Devastatingly, we lost our Nikki. She stopped eating and drinking. We took her to the vet, they ran some test and she had fairly advanced cancer through her body. Poor girl. She had spent so many wonderful trips on the boat and otherwise, it was really hard on me.

Remodeling

We did ANOTHER remodel (should I say model) on a rental and then put it on the market. We had a vacancy at one off our homes and we had been on a plan to sell one a year and get out of the rental business. We’d fallen off the wagon but decided to get back on. A truly lovely house built in the 1920’s with a barrel vaulted ceiling in the living room. The house was in quite good shape, but is had a one car garage that was converted to an apartment in the 40’s (probably?) Nothing had been done since then and we’d used it for storage. To make a long story (and project) short, it ultimately was gutted to the studs and redone. So much more than we wanted to do, but it was all required.

It is now on the market but the holidays get in the way. Our 2024 sale will be a 2025 sale.

Chicha’s Scare

The stress just kept building. After losing Nikki, helping Julia with Greg’s estate and starting a “model” on our rental, Chicha got sick. We were still morning Nikki and now Chicha stopped eating and drinking. She ended up in intensive care with kidney failure (kind of like Sylvia back in 2018). She was there for 3 days. They got her stabilized quickly and we nursed her back to health. There was no real underlying cause for it and when it and some vets (but not others) agree with us that it was a combination of losing Nikki, us disappearing for long days to work on the “model” and just plain loneliness. She is doing pretty darn well now but on a special kidney diet that has made feeding all the more challenging.

A Birthday Bash

We took a couple of short trips while home. Jim’s first cousin Carol had a surprise 90’t birthday soiree over in Dallas. We took Chicha with us. She was till on the mend but did well traveling. It was fun catching up with Jim’s various cousins, some who traveled for the event who rarely travel. It was so much fun catching up.

And Then There Was the Boat

Oh yes, the boat. We left the boat in Guatemala to be painted from top to bottom plus a few other cosmetic items. The yard has a very good reputation for paint work and we’d seen their work on other boats so were comfortable with them. They use the same materials as in the US and are about half the price. We wanted to make a return trip to check in when things were being put back together as a few things needed to be done with special car (we thought). So, in mid-October we returned to the boat to check in on the progress after the paint was mostly complete.

What Have I Forgotten?

I can’t remember what I’ve forgotten except having some very nice visits with our family, quiet dinners, piano recitals, and good talks and get togethers with friends to catch up and laugh a lot.

Cousin Ray

Jim’s cousin Ray passed away unexpectedly in October. We were heading to the boat to check things out and were able to modify our flights out to stop in Memphis for Ray’s services and to catch up with that family. It is funny how a death can turn into such a wonderful opportunity to catch up with a much larger clan of the family and spend some quality time. It was also a great opportunity to learn more about Ray and Susan’s (Ray’s wife and Jim’s blood cousin) early life together.

A Car

Oh, and we did buy my brother-in-laws little Miata. Yeah, we needed another car like a hole in the head. Jim said “it would be fun.” I said, “where would we keep it? It had to be inside.” Jim said, “it would be fun.” I succumbed and it is tucked into the main garage with the Subaru. It is fun but not sure how long we’ll keep it.

Swimming

And, we took swimming lessons and the community college! You might be surprised how many boat people do not swim, but we decided we wanted to be better at it (we were NOT very good). I was more comfortable than Jim, but we are not much more proficient and looking forward to seeing how it goes in the BIG pool.

Tori

And now there is the new kitten, Tori. She joined us about a month after we lost Nikki. 5 months when she came to us from a local shelter. She’d had a rough start, her litter mate dying just after arrival at the shelter. She had to be bottle fed. She was past this phase when she came to us and had already moved into the hellion phase where she still is. She is quite inquisitive and seemingly fearless.

Back in Guatemala

And now we are Back in Guatemala. We spent a few days with my sister and niece in Antigua. It was a short trip but we had a good visit. They were going to come sail with us for a few days but their commitments and our weather window did not line up. It made me very sad as I really wanted my sister to see the boat in person and the quilt she made for our bed on the boat.

We are finally underway, but you’ll have to wait for the next post to learn more. I’ve been too busy to complete this post after arriving back at the boat to finish it in a timely manner. All the prep to get back in the water and underway after 6 months is daunting, especially after they have taken so much apart and everything has been shuffled inside and out. One has to make sure everything is right. Be patient.