Progress

Dear Friends and Family,

Just a quick and short update, as requested by a few people. :-)

Progress on the boat: Jimi got the engine running just hours after last week's update. It now pures like an ornery lion.

He finishing installing the mast steps. However, the day he chose to complete the project we had high winds. Jimi was dangling 50+ feet in the air by a rope with tools in hand trying to attach the steps straight and secure. I wasn't there to watch, but I've got a pretty good image in my head. I have to look past the panic of danger and try to picture a humorous scene.

Jimi purchased a newer auto pilot system from our favorite consignment store on the gamble that he could merge it with the existing system on the boat. After playing with the electronics, it's looks at though he will be able to merge the two systems and they should work fine once installed.

He is preparing to address the standing and running rigging, also know as the cables and ropes. More to come on this later.

I am preparing for our wedding, as the day is fast approaching. We are most excited to see our friends and family. I've also been spending time advancing my skills at making embellishments with my Slice. It's fun! I've got cards for sale in a mariners trading store in Port Charlotte. I began with 10 nautical cards to see how they do. I've talked to a little beach boutique shop who is interested in taking a look at placing them in their touristy store, but I've been lazy and haven't delivered them yet. And I have another potential location that I'm also looking in to.

We went to Venice beach to snorkel and collect seashells over the weekend. It was chilly, as a storm was rolling by. Once I was finally able to get in the water I was fine, as long as I kept swimming. Unfortunately, we weren't finding many shells this time. Jimi was able to observe several larger crabs in their shells moving along the bottom of the ocean. When we  got out of the water and dried off, the sun came out and we sat for a long time soaking it up. It felt so good on our bare skin.

That concludes the past week. All is well here in Florida. The weather is getting cooler - 60's by night and low 80s by day. And we haven't had much rain in the past week.

Love everybody,

Lorie & Jimi