Refrigerator - Part Deux

So...here's the update on the refrigerator. I think it goes without saying that we are still a slave to the ice machine.

And so it begins:

On January 28th I ordered this from Lowe's. At that time, I was assured that it would arrive in their store on February 4th and we had delivery set up for Sunday the 6th.

On the expected date of delivery, we called to confirm, so that we wouldn't be sitting around all day, if they weren't going to bring it. After several phone calls we were informed that the fridge did NOT arrive on the truck slated to arrive on the 4th, HOWEVER it would indeed arrive on the truck on Sunday, and would be delivered Tuesday evening. GREAT...TERRIFIC....Tuesday will be fine.

Of course we are already the butt of jokes from all of our friends, so what's the difference now. I'm pretty sure they now all have bets placed in squares based on when the fridge will show up and if it will even fit....if they do, I hope it's $5 a square.

On Tuesday morning I call up my friends at Lowe's to confirm the status of our delivery, since Mike will have to take time off of work to effect this delivery.

I first attempt to contact Marcus the "delivery supervisor" who is unavailable.

I am then passes along to the Assistant Store Manager, Jodie. After telling him of my refrigeration woes, he attempts to shake me off by using the old "let me get your information and I'll call you back" technique. Well, I'm too smart for that, I told him I would hold.

After thirty minutes, and several phone calls, Jodie assures me that the shipping company who currently has possession of this item tells him that it is in the Houston area, and will be delivered to their store that very day and that a delivery would be possible as soon as tomorrow (today). Fabulous. A refrigerator....That was slated to arrive at my location between 8:30 and 9am.

Again, Mike had to take off form work this morning for this to happen. So, first thing this morning I called to confirm we were "a go" for this morning.

No. At this point we really don't know anything. Other than the people at Lowe's are incompetent and we may never have a refrigerator.

Please stay tuned for the next update in the Refrigerator Trilogy....

The Refrigerator - Part 1

Well....it finally happened. The fridge that has been threatening a revolt since day one made it's last stand on Friday. What we did not realize, was that it wasn't leaving quietly.

Saturday Morning Mike and I got up, had a tasty breakfast at Kelly's, and then set off to find a new fridge. Of course, there are size restrictions, so it does take some time to find what we believe will be the right fit. By two in the afternoon, we had paid for our selection, and even arranged for it to be delivered that same afternoon, between four and eight.

A couple of phone calls later, our buddies Patti & Grady, Donna (a late arrival w/ Travis' wife Crystal) & Randy, and their son Travis were on their way to help with the removal of the old, busted fridge. We (translation: "I") had measured not only the existing appliance, but all of the openings through which it had to travel. On paper, it should fit. It would be snug, but it would fit.

It was a lie. First it wouldn't fit through the opening from the galley to the  pilothouse. Come to find out, the height of the the opening is not the same on both side.

Enter power tools and safety glasses. Some unknown unit of time later, the refrigerator was now essentially in  two halves, a top and a bottom.

Mike and Randy cutting by hand, while Grady works on the inside of the fridge with a saw.

The guys ripping apart the fridge that has been cut in half...

The top was moved to the pilothouse with minimal difficulty. Enter problem number two. The tape measure says that this should fit through the door. The door is 24" wide. The fridge is 23" wide. It should fit. Three other people measured it. It should fit. It doesn't. IT DOES NOT FREAKIN' FIT!!!!! 

Now the decision is made to cut the top half into half again. This is a delicate process due to the constrained working area, but with some patience and a fairly significant amount of foul language, it is done. We are now able to eradicate this broken POS from our boat.

Total demolition time, approximately six hours.

When all piled up, it looked like this:




While all of this was going on, the delivery folks showed up, and discovered, after asking to borrow some tools, that the door of the unit we had chosen was indeed NOT reversible.Of course we had checked into this at the retail establishment where we completed this purchase...none the less, we were not really surprised at this outcome.

This entire experience was too much for some of our helpers, who each handle stress differently:


Final Outcome? We currently have some extra room in the galley, but we still need to find another fridge so that we can move out of the ice chest that is currently residing on the front deck.

My Chauffeur

Today being my first day off, I was relaxing on the couch with my Snuggie and the cat and no real plans for the day, when I heard a distinctive knock on our hull. After I pulled myself away from the remote and the cat, I found Grady smiling in the normally empty slip next to ours, asking if I'd like to go riding....

We had a nice little cruise through Waterford across the lake and through the Lakewood Yacht Club, I'm pretty sure we even spotted our sister-ship! The weather was damp, but not too cool...

Thanks Grady for a fun afternoon and getting me off the couch for awhile!

Knots and other Nautical Things

As of late I have taken an interest in all things rope and knot related...so here are my first decorative projects....

Here is my first Monkey's Fist. It's small, and knot quite perfect, but it's mine and I'm very proud of it. I keep it in the bag with my rope tools...




While at the "Used Boat Junk Store" (I have no idea what this place is actually called) I picked up a hank of approximately 75' of 3/8" braided line. 50' of that made a very nice Kringle Mat approximately 12" across...





For those of you that have been to the boat, you have seen the Ponytail Palm...


Well, Mike and I read that it will thrive a grow considerably larger if given a larger home, and so we acquired this...


Which, after a couple of tries, I turned into this...



Again...knot perfect....but I think it turned out pretty well! Now if we can just manage to keep the little darlin' alive until it grows into it's new pot!

Happy New Year!

Mike and I rang in the new year with some of our best friends...

Rachel and Santos joined us briefly early in the evening for a short Kemah Channel Cruise, but left early for some plans with the kiddos. Donna & Randy and Patti & Grady stayed over, making for a great sleep-over. The evening didn't really turn out like we planned....the weather kept us in our slip instead of anchored out at Redfish...but the evening couldn't have been any better!

We even finally met our starboard neighbor, a physics professor at Tulane, who came over for a drink in the evening and for breakfast the next AM. Guy (yes, that's his name) seemed to fit right in, and if we haven't scared him off, maybe we'll see him again soon...

To review all of the evidence, click the pic...


Oh...and when you are looking through the pictures, I apologize for the excessive number of photos of Cat Buddy. However, what I would like to point out, is that since I am the one with Cat, I didn't take those pictures, therefore, they must have been taken by the one who "hates" the cat....I'm just saying...

Christmas in Rockport, America

Mike and I had a great 4 days in Rockport for Christmas...I think we all agreed that it was the Best Christmas Ever. Everyone had a nice visit and enough food to feed a third world nation for a month and a half. Seriously, Mike and I didn't eat for more than a week after we got home.

The food was great and the company was greater...The group picture below was from Christmas evening, to see more, click the pic...

A Monumental Day

Today was a big day for Mike and I....one we have been waiting for since nearly the day we met.....


Drum-roll, please.......



We took the boat out for our first solo voyage!! Yep...all by ourselves!







Captain Mike enjoying a cup of hot mint tea as he navigates Galveston Bay with his First Mate at his side.


The trip went beautifully. The weather was cool, but sunny and clear. We stayed out almost three hours from cast off to tie up, and it was a perfect day in every way. Including a smooth landing back here at our slip, with each of us performing our tasks as planned.

What a wonderful day! There is just no other way to describe it!

To see more of this adventure, including me driving, click HERE!

A Home Improvement Project...

To some of you, this may look like just a big mess...but the other boat trash out there will recognize this as not only an investment, but a pleasant afternoon diversion...



One down, three to go...



My completed creation! Four docklines, four shackles, and four lengths of chain...



Mike said there should be a picture of me and with my work (I disagree)...



Last but not least...the completed system at work!

Christmas Boat Parade 2010

What a fabulous time!! Mike and I were joined by some of our oldest and dearest friends, as well as many new friends, for a wonderful parade watching party. Doug and Vic, tow of our guests, conspired to get us a WONDERFUL slip at Seabrook Marina with a perfect view. Thanks to everyone who joined us for this celebration to make it a memorable evening....Want to see more? Click the pic!

An OK Thanksgiving

Now, before anyone gets fired up...that's an OKLAHOMA Thanksgiving...

Mike and I spent five days in Oklahoma visiting with Mike and Linda (his Dad and Stepmom) and Stash and Teresa (my folks)...and we all had a great time.

This was the first opportunity that this set of parents had managed to get together, and I think everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.

To see more of our family adventures off of the boat...click the pic!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree....How lovely is your Waterline...

Over the course of a few days right before Thanksgiving Mike and I got together with some of our best friends to decorate the boat for Christmas. On the first day we put up the tree and all of our fish-y ornaments, and over the next few days we decorated the outside of the boat. At this point, I'm pretty sure we're only a few bulbs away from the Griswold's. To see more of our lighting adventures, click the pic...

And, if you need more Christmas, have a look at this short video clip...

Inaugural Cruise

Today was a very big day....we got to take the boat out for the first time. We were joined by Vic & Roz and Doug & Sherry. Mike did 99% of the driving, including the docking when we made it back to Watergate!
Great job, Captain Mike and thanks to Vic for his tutoring! To see more of this adventure, click the pic:

Ballunar Festival

What could be more awesome than watching the ballunar festival from our back deck while drinking coffee...I wish I could say that we had planned it, but we totally didn't. I think the surprise of it made it even better! Like they planned it just for us. What to see more? Click on the picture...

First Visitors

So, tonight we had our first official boat visitors...Donna and Randy stopped by for drinks and hot dogs...I know, it was a pretty fancy dinner....Not too many pics, but they can be seen by clicking on the picture below...

Moving Day and Boat Introduction

Here are the photos from our first weekend on the boat, and the day that we moved. Click on the photo below to see more of these pics....