Family on Forgeover

Portland to Grenada

Wed, 20 Jun 2018 10:13:20 +0000

Some might say that it is the very definition of madness to winter over in Maine and leave for the tropics as summer begins to burst onto the scene. Those people would be absolutely correct.

Nevertheless, that is just what we have done. The trip from Portland to Grenada took us within shouting distance of Bermuda, was entirely upwind, and graced us with a Gulf Stream crossing that was a low scale version of the worst conditions we could have hoped against (wind against current). The first few days had much of the crew horizontal and green.

Madagascar's End

Wed, 02 Nov 2016 08:25:04 +0000

This is where we bid au revoir to this country that has fascinated us with its warmth, diversity, creatures, landscape, and spirit. Majhunga, a city that cruisers alternately describe as “too dangerous” or “enchanting” is far from the crystal clear water of Tany Kely, but promises an easy clearance and provisioning for our trip across the Mozambique channel.

Ready as we are to see what lies beyond this next horizon, I feel now that our time here was too short. There were so many places that we sailed by that I would have liked to have lingered in, and so many conversations that (due to my failure to learn the local languages) were not had.

Nosy Komba

Wed, 12 Oct 2016 10:37:50 +0000

We have seen lemurs already (in Russian Bay) but all of us were excited to have a better introduction to them at the (locally) famed Nosy Komba lemur park.

The island is a weird mix of eco-tourism and authentic Malagash culture. It’s like a cleaned up Nosy Be. The pathways were all kept immaculate and the arts and crafts stalls boasted some of the best finished work we have seen in Madagascar.

Famadihada: The Turning of the Dead

Sat, 17 Sep 2016 09:11:03 +0000

Five years ago, a teenage girl died in the small Malagasy village of Antanambe. She was buried, as is her family custom, with all of her relatives, in a small plot cleared from the rain-forest in Verezanantsoro National Park. Here she awaits the decay of her corporeal form, so that she may finally join the spirit world. In the meantime though, she becomes lonely. The song and dance, the strong tradition of love and support that her village offered in life, is absent in death.

Le Morne Brabant: Hike

Sun, 28 Aug 2016 10:17:50 +0000

We have been here, in Mauritius, for a few weeks and haven’t really ventured out of the incredibly comfortable anchorage of Grande Baie. We see the impressive spires, off in the distance and remark that we should probably go check those out before we leave.

On Friday night we ran into Herman again, and she invited us to join a group of her friends for a hike up Le Morne Brabant. We couldn’t turn down such a great offer, even when it came with a 5am wake up call.

Days to Remember

Fri, 01 Jul 2016 08:10:43 +0000

A few days ago I was told that my dorades were dusty. The next day another person mentioned how dirty my decks were. And yet another person asked me why I had so much crap in my cockpit. All of these criticisms hit me deeply and personally and brought back every single boat insult ever slung my way. I emotionally fled to a perfectly polished tiny cottage where I could live alone in shiny silence with a hand blown glass vase full of pink peonies on the table and not a single crumb on the floor.

Indian Ocean: Not That Much Fun

Tue, 21 Jun 2016 14:04:43 +0000

Imagine you are sitting down, enjoying dinner. It’s Taco Tuesday® (but on Thursday, because you have no sense of time). Suddenly the salsa jar becomes a projectile, it jumps straight up, then banks hard to the left and hurls itself at you, missing by inches. The jar (which you forgot to put the lid on between scoops) explodes, covering your last clean shirt in a delicious yet inevitably perishable blaze. You sigh.

Jump for Joy

Wed, 04 May 2016 09:36:04 +0000

We have an odd tradition on Convivia. I would like to believe that it was modeled after a trait I picked up in my wilderness canoeing days, but really , it is probably more just good fortune. We tend to set a day for departure, work our butts off to make that schedule, and then we realize that we have no real imperative to leave. So we postpone a day. This day, is a special kind of day because unlike other chilled out days, we really didn’t expect it (even after many many iterations). So we end up swimming around the boat (because Fatty is often either on deck or hipped and ready) eating popcorn, and generally being a family of extreme leisure. This photo pretty well captures that spirit.

Chillin' in Thailand

Tue, 22 Mar 2016 03:20:37 +0000

The pace of life aboard Convivia has shifted. The hectic days of boatyard stress are behind us, as are the days in the Marina, fixing those last few (critical) systems. We’ve found a sleepy beachfront to anchor in front of and, with no transportation, have settled into leisurely days of kids floating beside the boat, easy conversation, and no plans to speak of.

This transition to cruising-proper is one that you can’t see but in hindsight. I think it started three or four days ago when we returned our scooter. It was given a boost by our recent depletion of funds, which strengthens our resolve to stay put. We’ve got another kid boat nearby (Quasar) so ours have a friend to occupy the day. They come home exhausted and hungry, and crash out early, leaving plenty of time for Vick and I to play games and share a couple of ciders.

Yard Dog's Christmas

Mon, 21 Dec 2015 01:11:21 +0000

We have been in the boat yard for two weeks now. Things are moving along at the expected pace (slower than I would hope, but reasonable for this oppressive climate). The boat is covered, and has its first coat of primer. The propeller shaft is off, the old swim ladder (which has been held captive by the Monitor for years now) is being removed and welded over. While we have the hull exposed, we are also adding glass around the keel (about 6mm at the widest point) and removing some blisters.

I Want to See Dragons for My Birthday

Thu, 08 Oct 2015 07:35:55 +0000

We take birthday wishes seriously in Convivia. We keep presents small and homemade, as the real celebration is in the cake. Cakes are dreamed up layer by layer, often years in advance. Olive wishes for her eighth birthday were a stuffed mouse, a watch, pizza for dinner, and a caramel, chocolate, marshmallow and chocolate ganache layer cake. All of her wishes seemed totally reasonable thanks to my mom sending a birthday watch to us before we even left Brisbane. I had a stuffed mouse pattern on board, along with fabric and stuffing. I stowed a stash of Belgian chocolate under my bed in June and in Darwin I packed into my teeny tiny fridge the cream, butter, and mozzarella necessary for the big day. Somewhere along the way Olive decided on a bigger wish, “I want to see dragons on my birthday.”

Cruising Again

Wed, 08 Jul 2015 05:42:45 +0000

We were waiting for a bus to take us somewhere and Vick looked at me and said “It’s kind of amazing, we just took off and now we are cruisers again. Heading off, looking for beaches or towns to explore, no real destinations…” It was clear that she expected it to take some reacclimation to get back into the swing of this. I remarked that I thought the ease of transition was because cruising is our natural state, and all the other things are what we have to do in order to make cruising possible.

Community

Sat, 03 Jan 2015 13:48:00 +0000

From time to time, in the course of my travels, people have asked me about “home.” By this they usually mean the USA in general or one of the specific places I’ve lived. When I talk about the good things, I almost always start and end with community. I tend to describe (my) New England as a place where community is valued highly, and then give specific examples of the types of activities that illustrate this value. The coffee social we organized when we lived Mountain View was one common example, but this New Year’s Eve will be my new favorite (if I can find a way to encapsulate it).

Lyman Family Christmas: In Photos

Sun, 28 Dec 2014 18:39:59 +0000

We celebrated a late Christmas with Vick’s side of the family at her mom’s home. Despite our host getting sick at the last moment, it was a wild success, complete with two rounds of Cards Against Humanity for the bravest of the lot.

Native Culture Shock

Wed, 03 Dec 2014 08:11:49 +0000

I’ve been meaning to sit down and put my thoughts to words for a week now. Arriving in the United States after 3 years abroad was certain to be a bit of a transition. This long separation is compounded by the nature of my lifestyle: the constantly shifting landscape (literally and metaphorically); the unique challenges of a life at sea; establishing myself for life and work in a (not so, but still) foreign country; and the very real fact that I have, over the past 3 years, manifested a life that is as close to my personal ideal as one can get while still balancing the needs and desires of three other individual beings.

The Best Thanksgiving Ever

Fri, 28 Nov 2014 13:26:05 +0000

Thanksgiving is the best holiday ever invented. Full. Stop. Granted it may come from questionable roots, but what it has become to my family and friends, is a holiday centered around gratitude, relationships, and gluttonous consumption of delectable foods. For a family that has named its home and lifestyle Convivia (a party centered around food and friends), it stands to reason that this holiday would be significant, and for me it is doubly so.

North Enough!

Wed, 25 Jun 2014 05:46:23 +0000

We spent a few lovely days at Middle Percy Island. We visited the legendary A-Frame, took a long hike up to the Homestead to visit Cate and John, and the Roundhouse to visit Steve. It was a lovely island with a storied and rich history and the current leaseholders were warm and hospitable. I’ll look forward to going back on our way south. Sadly, weather and internet forced us onward. We stopped in Scawfell Island for two days, but the internet there was too sporadic to support my work, so we were northbound again. When we arrived in Thomas Island, with it’s workable internet and gorgeous coral beaches, we knew we had made it to “North Enough.” Our weeks of searching were over. From here on up to Townsville the weather will be warm enough for Vick, the connectivity conducive to my work, and the flora and fauna rich, diverse, and unusual enough to hold the kid’s interest for days on end. Here are a few photos of our journey from Keppel.

Best Day Ever

Sun, 22 Jun 2014 01:19:06 +0000

I have a hard time assigning superlatives. I tend to experience life in an abstract way that doesn’t depend heavily on specific, quantifiable metrics. So when I say that this was the best day ever, take that with a grain of salt. There were other best days. They might have been better, who knows. Not me :)

Today started slowly, in the usual ways. After coffee and breakfast I headed up to the cockpit to knock a quick tiller repair project off the list. With that success behind me I focused on the horizon.

Another Post About How Awesome Brisbane is (i know…)

Fri, 25 Apr 2014 02:34:07 +0000

So this just popped up in our back yard. It’s been behind a fence for months now, slowly coming to form. I didn’t pay much attention but today I took the kids over there so Vick could have some space to put the boat back together after last weekend. This is what I discovered.

And some genius solved a problem I had never even acknowledged was a problem. You know those noise makers that they sometimes have at playgrounds. The ones you want your kids to play because it seems indicative of an interest in music, until you realize it’s just their normal desire to make as much noise as possible.

Tangalooma Easter Weekend Photots (part 1)

Fri, 18 Apr 2014 15:51:22 +0000

Photos after the break

The Sailing Me

Fri, 18 Apr 2014 10:44:22 +0000

“I wish everyone who knew me could know the sailing me!”

I posted this on Facebook today. It was one of those thoughts that popped into my head ready to publish, and didn’t require a lot of fact checking. As the day passed though, I found myself coming back to that thought. What makes the sailing me noteworthy, why do I prefer it to the geeky me, or the business me, or the city slicker me?

School Holiday

Sat, 13 Jul 2013 18:25:47 +0000

School Holiday is our family’s newest novelty. Vick braved the first week (of two) on her own. It was cold and rainy and they spend a lot of time baking and visiting the museums. By the end of the first week though (despite heroic displays of positivity) it was getting pretty clear that if we the three of them spent the next week on the boat, in the rain, it was not going to be a good scene. We consider ourselves to be pretty stout, flexible cruiser types. When the condensation gets so thick that it starts collecting as drops on the overheads, we grin and bear it. But this wet season seems to have started when we arrived in Australia and 7 months later, is still going strong.

Goodnight Cruise

Sat, 01 Dec 2012 11:38:31 +0000

It is time to bid farewell to the star filled night sky, to the meteor showers, to the dolphins that scared the crap out of me on night watch. I am just settling in to my last chocolate watch (the salty watch is 8-12, 3-6 is for chocolate); in a few hours the sun will come up and we will line up for the first of several channels that will bring us to our new home.

Photos: Port Vila, Vanuatu & Chesterfield Reef, New Caledonia

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 20:37:14 +0000

We’ve got a wordy type post in the making. In the meantime you can feast your eyes on some photos from Port Vila and the most spectacular Chesterfield Reef. Chesterfield was a safety option for us on our passage to Australia. I was pretty sure that we wouldn’t stop there but as we got close fate forced our hand. Am I ever glad it did. Chesterfield deserved a week but we had only a few days to enjoy it. We made good use of the time, fixing boat problems, snorkeling, beach combing, and hanging out with our friends on Britannia. Our time was up too soon and we headed out into some nasty weather to make it to Australia before the rally ended. Next time around we will definitely make more time for this sweet spot!

Mystery Island

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 02:48:08 +0000

Mystery Island is a little sand spit in the lagoon that we anchored in at Anatom. The island is haunted—or so the locals believe—and this makes it uninhabitable for any ni-Vanuatu. The interesting thing is that they don’t mind going over there for the day to sell cheap “made in China” trinkets to cruise ship tourists. They get a lot of opportunities to do this too as a cruise ship pulls in every 3-5 days (in season) to barf out a few thousand pink gaudily dressed tchotchke-hungry consumers. As a result the island has been “developed” into a kind of Survivoresqe theme park, part tasteful thatch shelter, part gauche photo-op, but all very interesting if you happen to go over there when the show isn’t on.

Volcano - Photo Essay

Sun, 28 Oct 2012 05:01:06 +0000

Flyin' Through Fiji

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 02:27:48 +0000

As we made our way across the Pacific we were perpetually asking “can we spend a little more time here?” After ~10 years of putting off today’s desires in favor of tomorrow’s dream it was finally time to say “Yes, why not!” The down side to this was that we knew that every extra day we spent in today’s paradise would be borrowed from tomorrow’s. You can only defer for so long before the cyclone threat starts making your choices for you.

Last Days in Tonga

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 14:55:08 +0000

First Day of School

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 14:47:53 +0000

One of the things that our kids miss while cruising are typical stateside milestones like the First Day of School. Where I grew up the first day of school was the day after Labor Day, which happens on the first Monday of September. Five year olds begin kindergarten, and while Olive doesn’t turn five for another couple of weeks, she would be a kindergartener now. We were lucky enough to send our kids to the General Primary School in Matamaka Village for their first day last week!

The Possibilities Are Endless

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 01:01:02 +0000

When I heard Zinnia was planning to move to Penrhyn I thought to myself, her mother may never see her again. And I thought that my children may end up moving to a place somewhere in the world, a place so remote that Lonely Planet only has five sentences to say about it.

I Have Never Felt So Foreign

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 14:27:32 +0000

When I visit a new country I tend to see all the ways in which its culture is different first. A week or so into my visit the similarities with my native culture overtake the differences and I am overwhelmed (for a time anyway) by the beauty of our world’s diversity.

Here on Samoa (pronounced Sa’ moa) I have yet to move fully into the second stage. Every time I feel like I am close, something alien is revealed to me that sets me back to seeing the differences. This (two) island nation is gorgeous. Its people are, by and large, incredibly outgoing and proud of their heritage, and they share a (second) language. I had expected this (amongst other things) to make it easy for me to fit in and feel welcome here. Not so much.

Suwarrow, a Photo Recap

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 13:36:11 +0000

We arrived in Apia, Samoa early in the morning yesterday. Thankfully the internet was fast enough here to upload a few photos.

Stretching Our Legs

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 20:39:17 +0000

The idea was to get off the boat and stretch our legs. We had been to swim with the rays the day before, but that doesn’t really count. Our feet hadn’t touched land in a few days and we thought a little walk would do us good. The Mo’orea Agricultural Center looked like it was close to the head of the cove we were anchored in, so we hailed Wondertime and met at the beach in our dinghies.

The Frankenfold Myth

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 01:54:25 +0000

When I talk about our time in Papeete (Tahiti) I am inclined to describe it as all work and no play. When one is bogged down with projects like the Frankenfold (a.k.a the mainfold from hell), it is easy to forget that much fun has also been had. So before elaborating further on All The Fun® allow me to describe this particular bit of boat owner’s misery.

Frankenfold

Convivia has had numerous small fresh water leaks since we bought her. These have been dealt with more or less as they came up, and along the way I have even managed to improve on the system. On passage we started to develop a leak at the kitchen faucet, the location and disposition of which made it very difficult to fix. The short term solution was to decommission the faucet. Plumbing then took top priority on my project list. I had plenty of time to think about how best to address the situation. I wanted to remedy the existing problem and also make a substantial improvement to the overall stability of our ship’s pressurized water system. Ultimately this would have meant removing all of the hose and replacing it with Sea Tech hose. This being the middle of nowhere, I was not holding out of that. Plan B was to replace as many of the nylon fittings as I could and add a manifold as close to the pump as possible. After several (though it seemed like several hundred) trips to several hardware and marine stores, I was able to get all of the part together and complete the project. The result (as seen below) is not beautiful, but it works and solves a problem that would have been inevitable had I not taken the time.

Vaipo Waterfall

Fri, 25 May 2012 00:44:21 +0000

Peer pressure was (for once) well placed when it was applied to our reluctance to hike “5 hours” to see another waterfall. We had already seen one in Fatu Hiva and it was quite magnificent. That hike was great too, but I just couldn’t motivate for a much longer hike, even if it was the 3rd highest waterfall in the world.

“It’s amazing,” “It’s breathtaking,” “You’ve got to see it, really.” We heard nothing but praise and even from people who had already trekked to the one in Fatu. In the end it was Wondertime that brought us around to the hike. They hadn’t arrived yet and we didn’t want to leave for the Tuamotus without catching up with them. For so many reasons, this was the right call.

Daniel's Bay: Aka Survivor 4 beach

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:33:46 +0000

I’m not sure I knew that Daniel’s Bay (aka Hakatea Bay) was the site of Survivor 4 when we decided to check it out. By the end of our 5 days there it seemed to be the theme for everything. So much so that when I organized a little beach bonfire on the last night, I sheepishly touted it as the Survivor Beach Bonfire.

Our stay there was nothing like the reality show though. We spent our first day on the beach, collecting limes and coconuts and generally making ourselves at home on the abandoned shore. The gendarme from Taiohae was there, which we thought was a little weird until we discovered that he was probably investigating the sensational cannibalism case* that has made the news (though thankfully not enough to catch our parents attention) lately.

Land Ho…me

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 06:00:13 +0000

We have been living on dirt for a week now and it’s not as totally weird as I thought it would be. Of course, I have been working on the boat every day, so it’s not like Convivia and I are estranged, but it is strange to watch the kids spread out all over this little house like gas (filling all available space). The boat was supposed to splash on Friday, but they found hundreds of blisters and they had to be dealt with. The yard has been great. Their staff have helped me through countless hardships and even lent me tools (an unheard of generosity in the realm of boatyards).

Another Chapter in the "Why Love Mexico" Series

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 06:00:06 +0000

I know, I’m a broken record, but I feel I underestimated Mexico and want to shout its praises for all who, like me, didn’t know what they were missing. I know I’m not that first to blog about this, we aren’t even the first to get video, but still this is special.

I took this footage after a long, stressful and slightly anti-climatic day. Afterwards I felt renewed, and ready to rock some bureaucracy. I can’t say public transportation in the USA ever gave me that much!

Giving Thanks

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 18:11:31 +0000

The Crew of Convivia has so much to be thankful for. Amongst those:

Our health
Enough wealth that we can afford to be together all the time
Enough love, patience, wisdom that we would want to be together all the time
The realization of a lifelong dream
This wonderful floating home
The support and love of our families and friends
A wonderful, diverse, and supportive cruising community (both near and far)
Thanksgiving in a climate that demands we wear swimwear to dinner

Reflecting on the overwhelming bounty of our life is a daily, or at least weekly occurrence lately, but on this day I observe our good fortune in the context of 36 previous days of Thanksgiving. I have never, on this day, felt anything less than a heart full of gratitude. If a heart full is the yardstick by which such things are measured though, I must surely have grown another heart this year.

Los Fralies to La Paz… in Photos

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 15:56:44 +0000

Okay here is another installment of …in Photos. I may have to add some to this gallery, so feel free to check back in a few days.

¡OMG That's a Lot of Photos!

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:30:39 +0000

Okay, it’s been a long time since I had enough bandwidth to upload photos. Now I have this Telcel data plan and I’m going to put it through it’s paces. So here it is folks, all of the pictures from San Diego through Puerto Los Cabos… after the break

Sorry for all of the duplicate subject matter. I got a little lazy towards the end.

Where I Need to Be

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 22:19:32 +0000

Other than Tucker not going to work it seems like our day to day routines are really normal. Tucker wakes up early with the kids and makes me coffee before he gives me my wake up call. We make a breakfast or two and get dressed for the day. We go about our day doing boat projects or walk to a grocery store, or look for a place to do laundry. The kids play, read, do workbooks, make crafty projects, make messes, play games and video games, go for walks, find parks, climb trees, go to the beach, and visit with friends. All of our meals are at home or packed up as picnics. The pace is really perfect. Ruby has time to sew with my help; to concentrate on her cursive handwriting; or to sit in between Olive and I and give us very specific and serious lessons so that we can become competent Angry Birds players. Olive looks for jobs and fixing projects whenever he can. Today he very seriously threaded buttons onto embroidery thread (really a distraction so I could work with Ruby on her project) and made several strands as gifts for all of us.

Ship's Log: First Overnight; Monterey to Morro Bay

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 18:05:38 +0000

Standing here, at the refrigerator/nav station/electronics table, and reflecting on our first overnight passage, what strikes me most was how noisy it was. Not up top (in the cockpit) but down below. We started the day with a strong WNW breeze which soon turned into 15-20 knts of NW. This was perfect for our southbound passage and if it had not been for that square swell, we would have been in total heaven. As it was the boat handled admirably and we sailed most of the late afternoon and evening on just the genoa. By 1 am the wind had completely died and we had to turn on the engine.

Days -1 through 1

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 21:51:31 +0000

In lieu of a real post I present this photo montage of our last 3 days.

Final Countdown: 4 Days

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 22:32:15 +0000

With just 4 work days between me and the life I have dreamed about, things are getting a bit hectic. We’ve been frantically dealing with last minute details like: shredding 25 hard drives and 26 backup tapes; buying a watermaker, swim ladder, coffee roasting drum; fleshing out the amazing first aid kit that Vick’s mom made with prescriptions etc; trying to cram in as much time with friends as we possibly can; etc. We are in a strange state of limbo that leaves us feeling neither excited nor particularly stressed. It’s hard to be too stressed when you are counting down to a dream life, and it’s hard to be excited when you have so much to do. Instead I find myself looking ahead and feeling brief moments of exhilaration which I quickly squelch so that I can stay focused. It’s like dreaming about someone else’s life.

Maine Vacation 2011 in Photos

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 16:50:41 +0000

This photo roundup covers the going away party and a few other highlights. Enjoy

Family Time in Maine

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 11:11:21 +0000

Our summer visits home to Midcoast Maine have always been transformative and inspiring. Slowing our pace and enjoying time together as a family reminds us how life is meant to be and helps us to refocus our energy on things that matter most to us. This trip, as short as it is, has been no different. Already we have been talking about possible change of itinerary, and certainly thinking of as many ways to return to this idyllic spot as we can. The future is as uncertain as ever, but being here reminds us to be mindful of the present.

Countdown: 35 Days

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:35:38 +0000

Vick and the kids are heading to New England this weekend to start saying goodbye to all of our East Coast friends and family. I’ll follow a week later and spend a week and a half there before we all return to Convivia to start the 3 week countdown to casting off. At this point I’m suspended in this twilight zone between the elation that this new life brings, and the stress of leaving behind so much that we’ve built (in our communities, in our relationships, and at work) and the stress of what we still must do to get off the dock.

Ship's Log: June 13th—Monitor®/QuickCover® Test Sail

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:07:45 +0000

Convivia was ship shape and ready to sail by the time my work day ended. We decided in the morning that today would be the day that we tested out the North Sails QuickCover (similar to a StackPack) and Monitor windvane. I was a little worried about the monitor because I had to guess on where to attach the control sheets and I hadn’t had time to read the instructions on how one actually sails with the thing. I was worried about the QuickCover because I have heard all sorts of complaints about the sail getting caught and other related issues.

Easter Sunday in Photos

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 22:19:51 +0000

This low grade cold is demanding I go to bed, but I wanted to get at least some account of our Easter experience up before the day was over.

Ship's Log: April 2-3 — Horseshoe Cove

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 22:24:39 +0000

“Olive, what was your favorite part of today?”

“Anchoring out. Don’t you think it’s everyone’s favorite part? I bet everyone in the world loves anchoring out.”

We almost didn’t anchor here. The Cruising Guide to San Francisco Bay, had more caveats than usual for this anchorage— Don’t even attempt if it’s foggy; you might get sucked right out the gate as you approach; the Coast Guard won’t take nicely to your presence on their side of the anchorage; etc.. After calling ahead (another recommendation from the guide) we were told that we were more than welcome to anchor, but there was a lot of surge, a few other people had called that day, and there was a pile of flotsam tied to a mooring out in the middle of the harbor that they were worried might work itself loose. But sure, come on down.

Cabin Fever Relieved

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 08:10:52 +0000

Sunday’s plan was to take the kids on a hike while Vick got some stuff done around the boat. Around 10:30 I got the kids dressed for the day and up to the car. Sitting in the parking lot looking out at the storm clouds moving over the Bay, I suggested to the kids that maybe today wasn’t the best day for a hike. We decided the the California Academy of Science was a safer bet and drove in to San Francisco for a day of museuming fun.

Ship's Log: Golden Gate With Deneb & Seren

Sat, 12 Mar 2011 21:50:05 +0000

We had the boat ship shape and ready to rock by the time Deneb and Seren showed up at 10:30. The kids were overflowing with excitement to have little Seren aboard, and just couldn’t wait to show him everything. Seren, warmed up to the chaos and excitement much more quickly than I would have expected (being his second time aboard a boat).

After a quick detour at the pump out we made our way, ever so carefully, out the channel. We were worried about the latent tsunami effects and the low tide, but between the chart plotter and the crew’s watchful eyes, we made it out at dead low tide without a snag. Once safely out of the harbor we were greeted with the sight of several races, replete with their golden and graphite sails, underway all around us. I engaged the tiller pilot (or Otto, as Deneb dubbed it) and headed up to the mast to raise sail. We quickly killed the diesel and everyone exhaled and inhaled the warm(ish) salty spring air.

Ship's Log: Paradise -> Home

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 09:44:15 +0000

Sunday morning in Paradise Cove is glorious. The wind and swell from the previous night is gone and even the feeble dawn sun is enough to warm us in our PJs as we lounge in the cockpit. Ruby, Olive, and I eat breakfast and let Vick sleep. The kids dress and ask if they could go in the dingy for a while. Ruby rows (tethered) back and forth to Convivia’s transom while I observe from the cockpit. Within a few minutes she asks to go freely. I hop aboard and let Ruby row me around the anchorage. She rowes Olive and I to shore and we spend a half hour playing on the beach, finding ladybugs, searching for the best sea glass, skipping stones and destroying sandcastles.

hellO 2011

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 14:43:38 +0000

2010 was an amazing year. Among the many significant milestones were our first family cruise, the purchase of our dreamboat, the jettisoning of most of our worldly possessions to move on to said dreamboat, lost teeth, first bike rides and first ocean passage. Our transition to boat life, despite it’s smells, minimalism, and tight quarters has created a stronger, happier, more cooperative family than we had on land. 2010 looked like a very hard act to follow.

Who Am I?

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 20:51:36 +0000

I just got done reading Ashley Ambrige’s new e-book You Don’t Need a Job, You Need Guts. It’s an inspirational piece in the same vein as Chris Guillebeau’s Unconventional Guides. Both authors encourage their readers to do whatever it is that they are passionate about (though Ashley claims to be weary of the term passion). Every time I read one of these books I think, yeah, I can totally kick ass in that self motivated, self promoting, me against the big bad world way. Really, I’m perfectly wired for it… until.

The Paper Bag Princess: A Play in One Act

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 17:27:58 +0000

It’s the rainy season and several people have expressed curiosity regarding how we might be surviving the inevitable cabin fever. I’ve been very carefully dodging this questions because I have no experience to base my conjecture upon. This weekend we had our first substantial rainstorm (complete with thunder and lightning). As a result I can now say that we can make it two or three days without completely loosing our minds. You may however opt to disagree after watching the following video (after the break)

Ruby Takes to the Sky

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 08:36:07 +0000

Lowered Expectations

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 13:27:34 +0000

One of my favorite pre-vacation practices is to intentionally lower my expectations. I contend that I am due a single 15-60 minute “moment of bliss” somewhere in a 2+ week vacation, and if I can get that I consider the experience a success. These moments of bliss generally take the form of reading a great book in the sun on a day with light breeze.

On this last vacation I got two moments of bliss. The first (which happened twice) was when the kids were playing happily in the cabin. Vick and I were sitting in the cockpit drinking coffee, and Convivia was sailing herself under nearly perfect conditions. The second was when I took the kids to Shorebird Park to play while Vick went to the store. Both kids were having trouble with relationships. I saw at least a dozen problems at the moment before they flared up. Somehow I managed to use just the right intervention every time and their conflicts effortlessly catalyzed into new friendships and joyful spirit. I was in a zone, writing a symphony of play with them and I couldn’t have been happier or felt more accomplished.

Photo Highlights: Santa Cruz Cruise

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:41:22 +0000

Home

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 23:46:45 +0000

I wasn’t at home when we were tied into slip A58 in Monterey Harbor. I was homesick. Surprising yes, since I was on my own boat, tied up with my usual dock lines, cooking in my own galley, and sleeping in my own bed. I spent my time in Monterey constantly checking the three forecast areas on NOAA to find our perfect weather window to head north. Again, I was surprised at myself. The trip north is usually hard, wet, and cold. Our boat is in great shape and we could actually (foolishly) cash in Tucker’s retirement accounts and head south for at least a year. I always want to go south, or anywhere warmer than wherever I am. But I wanted to go north, to go home.

High|Low

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 22:43:09 +0000

Last week was hard. I’m not sure what aspect of the work/life package was hardest, but it wasn’t just me. The whole family was under strain. By Friday I knew we needed a reset. “We’re going sailing tomorrow,” I told Vick as we were cleaning up from dinner.

Saturday morning, we all woke up early and got moving. I’m glad we didn’t set the timer because the clean-up may have taken more than one hour. Still by 11ish we were ready to get under way. I was fiddling with something on deck when our friend and fellow cruiser Carl stopped by. “You guys going out today?” she asked. “Yup, probably out to the Gate and back, it looks like a great day for it, want to come along?” “No thanks, we’re going out too. After I pick Christina up, we’re going to drop anchor at Clipper Cove, do you want to go too?” At this point I’m thinking, “Victoria would never go for this.” but when she popped her head out and asked what we were talking about I implored Carl to talk her into it. I was relieved when I noticed the signs of her wheels turning as she figured out what we would need to do to get ready. “I guess we’ll need ice,” she finally said.

September's End in Photos

Sun, 26 Sep 2010 22:17:11 +0000

Knock Knock

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:00:13 +0000

Olive: “Knock Knock”

Me: “Who’s there?”

Olive: “Banana”

Me: “Banana Who”

Olive: “Aren’t you glad I didn’t say Orange?”

At this point I’m thinking, at least he got the right fruit in there but Olive scrunches up his forehead as I fake laugh and says “Daddy what’s the real joke?” So I decided to humor him again.

Me: “Knock knock”

Olive: “Who’s there?”

Me: “Banana.”

Olive: “Banana who?”

Me: “Knock knock”

This is Olive

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:11:39 +0000

This is Olive. I feel like I’ve just begun to know her. Recently she’s been relating her observations to us with her own clever interpretations. I find myself constantly amused, inspired, and uplifted as I watch this little girl interact with the world. She’s developing a piercing wit that she casually melds with her uncomplicated but somehow sophisticated (for a 2 year old) understanding of how people and things work.

Ship's Log: August 20-22

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:55:34 +0000

Victoria, Ruby, Olive, Jacob, Kate, Michael, and I left the dock at Emery Cove around noon on Friday for a 2 night stay at Alaya Cove, Angel Island. We’ve made this trip twice before but never with company. I decided to fill up the third tank (for an alleged total of 110 galons) just in case. We did our shopping the night before and got everything ship shape early on Friday morning for our guest’s 9am arrival. As expected it took a few hours to get Kate and her family moved in, and we took the opportunity to shower and pack a few more last minute maintenance tasks in.

August 15th in Pictures

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 21:15:58 +0000

We spent a magical afternoon with Kate and Michael and cousin Jacob. Here’s the photo evidence.

Pink Jobs & Blue Jobs

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:07:10 +0000

A few weeks ago I was lamenting to Victoria how we seem to have fallen right back into traditional gender roles in our household. It should not have come as a surprise to me, what with Vick being a stay at home mom, but after many years of mixing and matching roles based on personal strengths rather than gender roles, I was somewhat irked by our lapse into traditionalism.

No Better Life Than This One: Choosing Joy

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 22:21:39 +0000

Today sucked royally. I started the day saddled with the dread of a project (replacing the hot water heater) that I just knew was going to go badly. This project was going to go badly because:

I couldn’t get to all of the fittings to measure what size they were and therefore didn’t know for sure what to buy to replace them.
The old water heater may have or may not have fit out through the available hole… Oh no. It didn’t.
The beginning of the project involved cutting the safety net (all of the hoses, strapping, and electrical) thereby completely committing me to raving success or miserable failure.
The space that I had to work in was miserably small, virtually guarantying several minor concussions, gashes, and bruises (check, check, and check)
The very best that I had hoped for was to get enough done that I could safely turn on the pressure water in the evening (cold only) to do the dishes from the margaritas.

So after a grumpy breakfast, and a grumpy trip to the chandlery and the hardware store, I grumpily made by way back down the dock with not quite enough parts to complete the project, and a pretty bad attitude. I was short tempered all morning, and when I finally remeasured the new hot water heater and found that it was something like 10" too tall for the space it was going into, I was pretty certain that I was going to go stratospheric. When I then remeasured the old heater and found that there was no possible way to get it out without removing the countertop, I thought I would cry.

Dad Life

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:07:19 +0000

Thought this was pretty funny.

Thanks to this article by the super funny and entertaining Janna Cawrse Esarey for hooking me up with this video.

4th of July Weekend in Photos

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 17:37:41 +0000

{this moment}

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 07:00:12 +0000

A Friday ritual, inspired by Soule Mama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.

Yo Ho Yo Ho, Aboard is the Life For Me

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 23:13:35 +0000

For the past 9 years I’ve had less than 30 minutes of commute a day, total. Today I commuted a total of 3 hours. The two bike segments home were directly into the wind, with killer traffic, in my lowest gear. I got home and met Vick and the kids in the parking lot and spent nearly an hour searching for food and clothing in the ManVan.

Tonight, with winds howling at ~20 knots in the harbor, we finally relented to the worsening head smell in our cabin. It was obvious what needed to be done but with the cold and wind and dark, we were hoping it could wait until morning. Not so. After one aborted attempt for a pump out at the fuel dock (turns out that pump out must have gone away when they relocated the fuel dock) we headed back to our slip to do some reconnaissance on foot. Once I had confirmed that we could get over and back to the Emery Cove pump out we pushed off again and made our way over, did the deed, and got Convivia back into her slip.

Moving Aboard

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 21:24:08 +0000

This is it. As of Monday we are officially live-aboards. To me that means that, starting on Monday, I will come home to the boat, sleep on the boat and wake up on the boat every day for the foreseeable future. This is deeply comforting to me. To Vick it means a week (only a week) of final push to sell everything that we own that doesn’t fit this new life, or doesn’t fit in the boat/manvan/storage unit. Monday is not deeply comforting to Vick.

Winning the Lottery

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 20:49:04 +0000

On the way to work this morning Victoria suggested that we play the lottery. “Its $166 million today, seems like a good time.” Now understand, we don’t play the lottery to win, that’s just crazy talk. We play for entertainment value. When we were younger we would go out an drop a cool Washington on a ticket and then spend all night talking about our fantasy future. As we got older, and started to live that fantasy, we did this less often. Still, a couple times a year, the mood strikes us and we splurge.

Pre-K Geography

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 06:50:05 +0000

Believe it or not this was spontaneous. I have no idea how Olive knew where the pirates are or where Hawaii is. I guess unschooling is working for our family.

Are the Kids ready?

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 23:03:29 +0000

If you’ve been wondering how the kids feel about this transition…

[cue cheesy infomercial voice] …and if you liked “going marina” you’ll love some of these other instant classics.

“I can’t wait to tell Anika about Oakland, there’s so many things to see” — Ruby

“Me going to live on a sailboat… with no bathtub” — Olive

“I’m not sure which of my things I’m going to sell quite yet, but I’ll think about it” — Ruby (spontaneously)

Strictly Sail Pacific 2010

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 21:07:22 +0000

We went to the boat show today, and we’re going again tomorrow. The going today part isn’t particularly big news, after all this is our 11th consecutive show but it does feel different. Part of what is different is that we’ve got our boat all but purchased, and can legitimately talk about it as if its ours. For some reason that small distinction has made today catalytic for me.

I’ll admit, I’ve been tender this week. Okay, perhaps I’ve been raw, and a little hard to be around. I can’t help it. So much of our last 10 years of dreaming, and 5 years of debt reduction, saving, planning and dreaming some more is now coming together in a chaotic maelstrom of activity. I haven’t really got a clue about half (or more) of the things that I am responsible for, and I don’t have enough hours in the day to get a clue.

Back in the Flow

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:48:24 +0000

Years ago, back when we lived in Vermont, and even later when we first moved out to California, I always knew just what to do. It was easy. I never stood at the crossroads of a big decision, I just jumped in and let the current take me. I was sensitive to it, and I could tell somehow when it was time to hop out and look around but I never thought to second guess the current of my life. This flow took me from place to place, job to job, adventure to adventure, always at precisely the right moment. As long as I kept my vision clear and my wits about me, things seemed to just work out.

Liveaboard Status… ?

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:10:36 +0000

Today I signed the application that will give us live aboard status at our old marina in the East Bay. We’ve been on the waiting list for 10 years and when I called the other day to find out our status, I learned that we had finally made it to the top. This is a huge step for our family because it means that we can live aboard in a marina that will allow us to sail on the weekends. Everyone we’ve talked to at Pete’s harbor seemed resigned to the fact that they could not sail and live aboard. I’m hopeful that, with the Golden Gate Bridge clearly visible from our marina, we’ll be reminded that we’re in this to sail, not to sit at the dock.

Feeling Inspired

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:12:43 +0000

Despite the boat related disappointment this weekend I’ve found myself unexpectedly inspired, motivated, and empowered these last two days. Vick linked me up to the blog of a nomadic family (Happy Janssens) last night, and I kinda went link crazy, hopping around to a bunch of similar blogs. These families’ stories have been a balm on my chapped spirit. This morning the kids and I sat around watching videos from various blogs showing their kids living happy, nomadic, unschooling lives. True our adventure is just where we left it on Friday, but somehow we all feel closer to it.

QUIET FEET: Harmony Restored

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 21:13:35 +0000

Yesterday we woke up before 5am for the 14th consecutive day. Our parenting style dictates that we just roll with this, as unnatural and seemingly untenable as it is. Vick and I believe that its our responsibility to call it a night so that we can rise with the kids (see my earlier article for more on this). So we’ve been dutifully rising and shining at 4-5am and using lattes to get us through the week.

Catalina in Retrospect

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 08:14:23 +0000

We are back home now and the verdict is in. This vacation was a resounding success. Its likely that this was our best and favorite family vacation ever. We had some logistical issues, and some moments of frayed nerves, but that is to be expected. What really impresses me is how we all worked together to make sure that everyone could enjoy the trip.

Ruby was a total champ. When Vick and I were busy, she would entertain her sister down below. She devised a multitude of games, and when we finally bought a couple containers of Play-dough she would spend hours with her making pretend food and serving it up.

Catalina: The Passage.

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 16:40:10 +0000

We arrived in Two Harbors last night, just after the sun went down. We left Marina Del Rey around noon and motored out of the immense harbor. When we got to Santa Monica Bay, I briefly doused the engine to get a sense of the wind. We headed up and set the main. The wind sustained us for all of 15 minutes (at a measly 4 knots) before it died out completely. I reluctantly conceded that there was no chance of making it to Catalina on wind power alone and powered up the diesel.

Off to Catalina

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 13:23:05 +0000

Its Christmas Eve and as exciting as tomorrow promises to be the thing that Ruby and Olive claim to be most excited about is the sailing trip. That’s right, when given the choice between presents or sailing Ruby said she was more excited about sailing.

In preparation, Victoria and I are frantically working down the todo list. Here’s what the next few days look like

Our good friends Sarah and Ricky are stopping by for a lightning visit this afternoon.
Tonight we make our traditional Christmas Eve dinner. This year we’re adding Peppermint Molten Chocolate Cakes to the feast.
After dinner we’ll do a video chat with Papa Verne and Gramora where Papa V. will read “The Night Before Christmas” (another family tradition.)
After the kids fall asleep we’ll pack everything up for the trip, put out the presents, and hopefully get to bed early.
In addition to the expected Christmas morning hullabaloo we will be preparing to leave (at noon? really?), and video chatting with the Logans.

We’ll drive down to LA and spend the night there. Early on the 26th we will drive over to the marina where Vick will drop me off to do the check-in. She’ll head over to WF in Santa Monica to provision and we’ll hopefully be on the water by 11am. I’ve been told that the sail is ~7hrs to Two Harbors so we’ll be racing against the clock to get to the mooring before dark.

The Blue Bunny — Olive' First (collaborative) Story

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:58:50 +0000

We had a really first rate dinner at Amber tonight. When we arrived (at 5:15), there was one other family there and we were seated in the very back corner of the room reserved for families with little kids that look like trouble. Ruby was wearing her pink flower rain boots, mini-skirt, and a blue tee-shirt. Olive was sporting the ripped play pants and a dinosaur shirt. I really can’t blame them for seating us in the back corner, and it did nothing to dampen our enjoyment of the meal. The waitstaff positively doted over Olive. She played it cool, not answering their questions, but turning around to gawk at them when they walked away.

Yo Ho Ho Ho

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:25:39 +0000

We’ve really needed a relaxing family vacation for a while, and with time counting down to the big trip, we also need to make sure that the family is up for extended sailing. Last night, after weeks of thinking about these two items individually a plan popped into my head that married both of these concerns into a harmonic union.

This morning I asked Ruby if she would like to go sailing for the week after Christmas. She asked a bunch of probing questions – “Can I bring my dolls?” and “What will we do about pirates” – and when she was satisfied with the answers, wholeheartedly supported the plan.

Ruby Sings About Respect

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:34:34 +0000

This is a slightly old video of Ruby singing a song she invented about respect. I love that as she’s singing it she grabs her brother and won’t let go of him when he yelps. Luckily she does let go when I ask her, so it seems as though she respects me, but not Mr. M.. Enjoy…

… “This land was made for you and me.”

CupcakeCamp 2009

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:31:33 +0000

Today started off just like any other Sunday. We scrambled around to get dressed and ready for the Coffee Social and then to get Vick out the door to the Farmer’s Market. All of our friends came over for coffee and much fun was had. Then at 11:30 we kicked everyone out so we could hop a train to San Francisco.

We caught the 12:19 train to SF and hoofed it to Automatic @ Pier 38. We arrived just a few minutes before the Camp started and there was already a line out the door. At 2 (on the nose) the line started moving and within a few minutes we were all crowding the tables for the first round of cupcakes. Ruby and I opted for Taro cupcakes and I was quite surprised that I really liked it. Vick stood at table 3 and waited for the Cheesecake cupcakes but they never came.

TED India and Beyond

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:47:28 +0000

While I was on vacation, I received word that I had been invited to be a guest at TED India 2009. Tonight I completed the registration and made it official. My tickets are purchased and plans are being laid.

When I mentioned to my dad that I was almost certainly going to India, he told me that he had always wanted to go and got this far away look in his eye. I instantly extended an invitation to him, hoping that he would accept, but aware that it was a big lift for him. I was happily surprised when my Mom started to encourage him and he gradually agreed that this was the chance of a lifetime. Of course my parents have this habit of dreaming about things in a way that looks to outsiders like resolve, so I was optimistically skeptical until last week when we bought our plane tickets.

I Am A Radiant Being

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 22:16:09 +0000

Okay, I’m going to come right out and say this cheesy thing that sometimes runs through my mind. I am a radiant being. This is not to say that I am radiant and some other people are dull. I suspect that we are all radiant. In any case, that’s not the point of this post. This is the point. I want to believe that what I do for money is just one aspect of who I am, and what makes me valuable in this life.

Being Your Best Self

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:24:22 +0000

I’m a crunchy, touchy feelie, hippie parent. As such its often hard to come up with just the right words to tell your kid that biting her mom and laughing about it makes you wildly, furiously, and deeply unhappy. As a hippie, touchy feelie, AP, parent you are not, for example supposed to say “Do that again and you’re out of the family.” Nor is it encouraged to shout “Are you insane?” It’s just not the thing. Conversely the suggested mantras “Biting is not okay” and “We don’t bite sweetie,” just don’t really satisfy the deep, furious, wild feelings that are floating around the house at such moments.

Throw a Party, Invite the World

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:53:44 +0000

Years ago Victoria and I heard about a long standing Bay Area soup night. The premise is that the host makes a big pot of soup and invites anyone to come eat. Some people bring other food, others just eat. Since there is no controlling who came there are endless possibilities for social and intellectual cross-pollination . This idea settled deep into my consciousness and made a home. I’ve been carrying it with me for years, and talking about it from time to time.

Father's Day @ Hidden Villa

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 21:38:05 +0000

I started out the day, as I do most every Sunday, with the Coffee Social. Since the kids are finally over the chicken-pox we had a great turnout, and I got to spend most of the morning lounging around with coffee, chocolate crossiants, and friends. Early naps provided a little needed excuse to read more of my latest addiction .

Somewhere around 4 we packed up our things and headed over to Hidden Villa for the Banana Slug String Band’s Annual Father’s Day concert. I don’t know why I love this event so much. Maybe its sitting on the most lucious green organic lawn in the world, embraced by mountains all around. Maybe its the huge jar of margaritas Vick brought. Perhaps its the happy kids (myself included) running around without a care in the world. Whatever it is, I really look forward to this event. Every year I meet a couple of other dads that seem genuinely happy to be fathers.

Parenting: What I've learned so far

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 21:46:41 +0000

Basically, what I’ve learned so far boils down to this. Parenting is not so much about managing your children, as it is about managing yourself. For example, in our family the kids wake up every morning (in the winter) at 6:30. 6:30 wake up calls make me a bit grumpy, so I could either: a) yell at the kids to leave me alone or; b) go to sleep earlier so that I’m not so tired at 6:30.

Monte Bello Test Hike

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 23:14:27 +0000

On Sunday Ruby and I headed out for a test hike in Monte Bello Openspace Preserve. The hike starts a few thousand feet up, close to skyline, and heads deep into the mountains above Silicon Valley. I was impressed with Ruby’s ability to hike for several miles (4 to be precise) without a complaint. The hike was a consistently steep upward slog on the way in, and a nice downhill run on the way out. We stopped about every quarter mile for a snack. I’m not sure that Ruby was tired, or hungry. I got the feeling that she just liked making camp for a minute. Some of our snack stops were barely enough time to catch our breath, but it seemed to be enough for the boo. Here’s a picture of us at the “Last Muffin Stop” which was actually the third from last break of the hike.

Victoria's Latest Sewing Project

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 08:17:01 +0000

When we were over at our friends house a few weeks ago ruby fell in love with a nightgown. Last week Ruby and Vick went fabric shopping and by Friday, Ruby had her first nightgown. I think its quite the item.

Secret Garden

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 07:44:23 +0000

Victoria and I built a secret garden in our back “yard” yesterday. Vick has been talking about this for a few weeks/months now and the weather and my new found productivity finally converged in a favorable way. I can’t wait to see what it looks like in bloom.

Ruby and the Jedi Mind Trick

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:36:25 +0000

It all started last weekend when Ruby and Anika started angling for a sleepover
No Ru, you didn’t have a nap today and it just wouldn’t be a good idea, Vick calmly states.
I will have a sleepover, Ruby corrects.
Ruby, listen to your moma, she said no, says I.
Daddy, Anika and I will have a sleepover tonight, she insists

I don’t know exactly how it happened but the next thing we know Jennifer is trying to figure out how to ride three kids home on her bike, and we were all happily joking about the padawan in our midst. The force is strong with this one. After three or four more successful executions of her new skill, I felt compelled to impress upon her that no sometimes does mean no. You can guess how that went.

Halfy Birthday to Olive

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:29:05 +0000

Olive rang in her 1.5 year birthday like a princess. I arrived home to both kids yelling “ta-da” and showing me their beautifully painted faces. .
We had some wonderful fajitas for dinner and then a 6 minute chocolate cake with home made whipped cream for desert. Olive reveled while Ruby led the group in a round of Halfy Birthday to Olive…

Making the World More Beautiful

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 10:48:10 +0000

I spend a lot of time thinking about how I’m going to leave this world better than I found it. This is a bugaboo of a thing to spend any time worrying about because the scope is grossly un-bracketed. I could satisfy my sense of social responsibility by creating an organization that brings food or educational resources to third world countries, or by raising two fantastic children who carry forward the same desire to do good.