Obsessions

Source: thatgreatbeginning

Coco has forever been obsessed with mermaids.  Not the Disney variety, just mermaids.  She is also the biggest tree hugger I know. 
My kid is super cool.  She is her father completely.  The only thing she has gotten from me is her love of reading and learning, and a crinkle in her nose when she is smitten.

But she is her own person too.  She has her own worth and her own freedoms. She has passions and loves and she is not afraid to let you know.

Holy, Bloody, Hot Summer

We moved Airabess in May, 2011.  It is probably my favorite time of the year.  St. Augustine is so beautiful in  May .  All of the flowers are in full bloom.  The days are warm, the evenings still cool. 

Spring

Savor the flavors that make this an existence.
More than just substance and matter.
Take time to taste the sweetness of spring on your tongue.

The pigments in the cycle of this moment create a palette.
A substantial breath amongst the monotony of the world.

Joy that explodes from the stem and root bleeding out in the fields of green.
It can not wait.
The moment is ripe
With anticipation,
Cultivation,
And,
Inspiration.

The mockingbirds’ eagerness is transferred.
Spread your wings.
Fly, fully
Into this season of life.

But if you look on the calendar you know June follows May. Which means an oppressive blanket of heat is laid upon Florida... for the next 4 months. 

Damn.  And things were looking so promising.   

Life and Working on a Boat

      
We are in full swing of busy season where we live, and Hubs and I both work in the service industry.  We have a force of nature also known as our fabulous daughter. We have our own home… and all that entails, as well as a rental property.  We have family obligations and celebrations.  Working on Airabess, which is on the hard.  Oh, and it is about 500 degrees in the sun.

All that being said…we, meaning Hubs, is making some progress on her.  Most of it off.  Did I mention it is hot.  REALLY, really hot.  Hotter than hot.
Getting there early is the key.  Getting off before the midday sun is in full effect is absolutely necessary. 
We have enlisted the ‘help’ of our nephew who is fifteen.  Young and clueless and to be honest… willing to do some of the stuff Hubs and I don’t really want to do.  Like for example~ climbing up inside the forward berth sanding upside down, and inside out.

But, we can only find the time to get on the boat for a few hours every week. So, we are trying to focus on things we can do at home when we have an hour here and there to spare.  Sanding and painting everything we brought home.  Fixing the oven, pumps, redid the propane system….

Pump before (yuck!):


And after (Niiicceee):


Much better.
Little by little~ when we can find the time.
I keep saying we.  Hubs is doing almost all of the work. To be more accurate, 99% of the work.  He knows what to do.  I don’t.  I am taking care of the kid, the laundry, the yard… the life stuff.  Different jobs right now.  Once everything is painted and sealed up on the boat I will actually be participating the some of the labor.  For right now, that is impossible.  We have tried a couple of times… not happening… yet.  There is a whole lot of hull sanding in my future!

But, and there is always a but… we have our boat.  We have Airabess.  So much earlier than we planned.  So, I like to think we are ahead of the game.

Touche', Shakespeare. Touche'.

We had to name our boat.  I had no idea how challenging it was going to be.  Naming it wasn't urgent, but it had to be done.  Sundsvalla just wasn't cutting it. 

We also needed to do the documentation paper work... which required a name. 
But we couldn't agree on anything.

Hubs didn't have any ideas.  He just liked saying 'no' to every suggestion I made.  I love words.  I live in them.  I breathe them.  I wanted her to have a name with meaning.  It needed to be sentimental and thoughtful. 

Coco wanted to call her Princess Sparkle Shine....

Eventually, we decided on Tempus.  It is the Latin word for time.  It seemed appropriate for our family, so desperate for moments together.  And, for a few months we called her that.

So we went about the laborious business of restoring Tempus. 

Months went by, and we still hadn't sent in the documentation paper work, and Tempus just didn't feel right.  It seemed too pretentious for our humble little cat.  Our very old, decrepit cat.  It was too big of name for us.  Oh, and Coco didn't like it.

But we had to fill in the blank...  It was time.

Once again we asked the little person in our family what she thought, because that's how we do things around here.
"Airabess," she answered with a great big smile on her face. 
"Airawhat?" I asked. 
Interject an enthusiastic Hubs, "Perfect, I love it!"

Really?!  Airabess.  What does that even mean?

 

 Juliet:
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."

Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

 

Here We Go...

Hub's last trip to Port Charlotte (he had several) found him coming home with a U-Haul full of boat stuff.  The previous owners had similar intentions as us.  And, fortunately for us, they bought all the big ticket stuff- new; wind generator, engine (still in the box), water maker, inverter, etc... There was an entire library (technical and pleasure reading), plates, tools.  You name it, and it was in our U-Haul. 

So, we unloaded ALL of it into our garage.  It was overwhelming.  For the first time during the whole process I was dumbfounded.  The doubts began to swirl around in my mind. 

 

What are we doing? And, how are we going to do it?  I don't know anything about sailing.  Seriously!  What were we thinking?

I had no idea what half of the stuff was.  I also knew that before we could move any of this stuff out of our garage we had a mountain to climb.  Or rather, we had a boat to rebuild. 

And, though not as big a deal, we had to name her.  We couldn't keep calling it Her. 

“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”

—	Paolo Coehlo

Living in that "possibility" of things right now. Looking towards the future.

Source: how-majestic