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The countdown is on 

Busy.....being a landlubber.

I have been told recently that the point of having a blog is to keep adding new material on a regular basis so I must apologize to you on the small chance that you were eagerly waiting for some news, we have been busy here on land.

It has been go-go-go since we have come back to Calgary after a much needed visit with friends and family out East this summer. We tried to see as many people as we could while there...sadly we missed a few, but crammed in as much quality time with as many people as we could while there. Since our return to cowtown it seems that our days are filled with so many things to do! The countdown is definately on ! It looks like March 21st is the day we will use our one-way tickets.

This may seem like a long time, but when I break it down into ALL the things we have to do before we go, it propels me into a frenzy of packing and list making....

When he is not busy flying solo across Canada :)  Mark has been spending alot of time settling the estate, selling off his mom's house and land and getting our house ready for renting. (This means all those little home improvements we have been putting off for so many years -paint, carpet, deck, doors.... are finally getting done). He also spoke to his boss last month and made a formal request for some time off (phew). He is also overseeing the final preparations needed for Amelie, ordering parts and materials  for her maintenance and upgrades. In November he is looking forward to going back to St Lucia for a "Guys Only" trip which will include getting the boat back in the water and some trecking around the local islands. I am not sure if he has warned the boys that each of them will be bringing one extra bag with them when they come down......

Meg doing her open water training in Bequia

Other than starting grade 6 and her usual swimming, choir and drama (classes!), Meghan is busy with completing her online PADI diving course (theory). She had taken her "introduction to diving" while in Bequia last spring and it seems she shares her dad's enthusiasm for the sport, so this is the next step. It is alot of work
 (2 hours/week) and she is doing very well !


 Matthew has been actively busy achieving puberty, and he is doing an excellent job at that, consequently keeping us all a little bit busier ! He gets an "A" in Escape Artistry as we have had to resort to using our "Amber Alert" Locating GPS Device more often these last few weeks ! Everything is bigger and louder these days as Matthew grows more and more into himself and seeks indepence, but he never ceases to amaze me as he emerges from childhood into this beautiful young man he is becoming.





And the "great culling" we started in the spring continues as we attempt to sell/give away/throw out more and more things, including our beloved "OrionSky" in August. This little sailboat had been an excellent- albeit at times ruthless and unpredictable-teacher to me; teaching me be to be more self assured sailing on my own, as well as how to get out of all sorts of adrenaline enducing predicaments! I have had many beautiful and  memorable moments with her and she will be missed ! Since we still have alot of things that need to find a new home, we have decided to organise  an "Everything-Must-Go-Give-Away-Weekend" for our friends and collegues in Calgary (Stay tuned for announcements in February gang). We hope that this will take care of most of the material stuff we will still have by then.

Matthew's squish machine

So what else do I do with my time ? Other than making endless lists, exhausting inventories  and breaking down schedules into elaborate time lines; I recently dove into school preparation for the kids by revisiting Alberta Education Programs of Studies for grade 7-9 (my old stomping ground) and also by setting goals for Matthew. I have been enjoying getting back into this and gathering material....especially the science and math stuff (if anyone can figure out how I can succesfully pack a compound microscope and some test tubes into our luggage-and convince Mark that these are needed-I would appreciate the input). Luckily Matthew's program material is mostly easy to pack (well except for his "squish machine"....which will sadly not make the cut).



In my spare time I have also been ordering all sorts of gadgets from WestMarine and MEC stores, gathering the necessities for the emergency "ditch bags" (the evacuation bags we hope to never use)  and making a "general operations manual" for the boat.

This month I will also be focussing on some more medic training with a friend who is a paramedic here in town and in November I will be taking a "Survival-At Sea" course through our Blue Water Association. I must say that I am looking forward to getting into THAT life raft !

Soon I will be practicing in one of these

There is one more special project I am working on but I will tell you all about it in the next blog.

 I am quite excited to share this with you soon. Can't give it all away in one day !

So, for now, this is how we are staying BUSY. I have to say that not having a TV helps alot!  I get my kicks monitoring the "National Hurricane Center" online instead. It is quite a disconcerting hobby at this time of year as tropical storm systems seem to be popping out like gum balls out of a machine. I have been keeping an eye on Hurricane Humberto, he is on his way and he looks like he is one angry hombre

The sun is rising now and the kids need to go to school, so I will sign off  but
I promise that I will try to keep this blog new and fresh at least once a month until we leave and then after that, hopefully more often !