Memories Do Come Flooding Back.....

Yesterday I had the pleasure of sharing the story of our sailing adventure with some members of the Port Washington Senior Center. I was the "featured" speaker for the February Valentines Tea.

Dave and I developed a power point presentation and have had fun sharing it with several groups over the past two years. We do the talk together - taking turns. But this time it was just me.....sharing my perspective about living together in a floating small space. I told the 40 guests about our two-year journey.

Every time I look at this power point pictures I get a lump in my throat and the memories come flooding back. What an adventure we had! Peaceful evenings at anchor sharing wine and card games in the cockpit, learning to find extra storage space wherever possible, creating balanced meals in a very small galley, meeting hundreds of new friends.....all doing the same thing in their boats. Snorkeling in the Bahamas, using uncooked ziti noodles to catch red snapper while anchored in Tilloo Pond, reading more than 200 books! Having porpoises swim right alongside our bow.....rolling sideways to look up at me as I whistled and banged on the side of the hull.

One night we listened to another cruiser as he played the bagpipes at sundown in the anchorage at Mile Hammock Bay. Haunting, unexpected, beautiful. Remembering walking on beaches from North Carolina to the Bahamas, back up to Maine and all the way down again to the Florida Keys. Using a dinghy to get to shore instead of a car to drive down a road.

As I told the group, we learned to sail after our youngest went off to college....so we were in our 40's. And we left to live aboard when we were 53. If anyone, when I was younger, had ever told me I would own a sailboat never mind live on one full time for two years I would have said "No way!"  But.......a door opened, an opportunity presented itself and we were able to grab it and enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

I miss it.....I'm so glad we had a chance to do it....and it's fun to share the story......

....because the memories come flooding back.

Happy Valentines Day........

Today was a good day....beautiful here in Wisconsin. I woke up to find a nice card and box of chocolates on the dining room table from my Valentine of over 50 years (counting the Ripon College dating years!)......and we had temperatures of almost 50 degrees with SUNSHINE!!! Great day for several long walks.

And also a great day to share my privileged life with others who need a little help to get through their week. I've been going to D6-FAWN (Forward Action Wisconsin Network) meetings for several weeks. It's an attempt to connect with others who share some of my post-election concerns and find a way to get more involved on a local level....trying to make a small difference where I can.

And one of FAWN's projects was to gather food for local food pantries and deliver them on Valentines Day. So.....the word went out to some of my neighbors, I made a run to the grocery store, decorated the bags and boxes and connected with a fellow member to make the deliveries.

It was a good day - and a good day to share with others less fortunate.

Maybe it will be an annual tradition!!! Goodness knows I don't need the chocolate....in fact, as sweet as it was of Dave to remember one of my favorite things, I put the box down in our lobby to share. It was gone by 4:00. Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Reconnecting......Alaska to Wisconsin.....

We are so happy to have good friends visiting this week. Janie and Phil flew down from Alaska to spend a week in Port Washington. (Now do you have any friends who think that a trip to Wisconsin in February will be a winter get-away?)

We've had fun talking, laughing, sharing memories, playing dominoes, introducing them to some of our friends.  Phil and Dave visited the Harley Museum and found the "machines" that their next wives will allow them to purchase.

We explored our "new" Milwaukee Art Museum and stopped for more art at MOWA  and for a local brew in West Bend.

And Janie and I meet an interesting character right in Port Washington!

A busy week sharing our home with such best-of-friends. Fun to look at what we see on a regular basis through "new" eyes. And looking forward to a summer trip to Alaska to explore the area they call home!

Blood Pressure.......

As I age my blood pressure is changing and going up a little bit. I've never had to think about this before....now my doctor is just "watching" it and told me to check it once in awhile when I could use a cuff around my upper arm. So today at COSTCO the technician checked it for me....155/89....a bit on the high side.  I'll check again in a few days/weeks and then talk to my doctor.

So anyway this afternoon, as I begin to get ready for dinner, I stumbled across the live feed for the Devos hearing on Capital Hill. One speaker after another standing at a podium and voicing their descent (the three I happened to see were Democrats....one from Michigan, one from Massachusetts and one from West Virginia). The current speaker is of Cuban descent....his parents "saw the writing on the wall and fled Cuba" for a better life in America.

Sort of interesting to listen to their rhetoric.....agreeing with it as I do. She is not qualified and should not be head of the Department of Education.

I was interested.....until the camera panned back and the new view demonstrated that the person speaking was basically speaking to a bunch of empty desks. Hmmmmm.......aren't our representatives supposed to be working for us.......the people who elected them? Shouldn't they at least be in the room?

I figure they've all decided on their votes and don't need to listen to any resoning coming from the opposition. So they just don't bother to show up.

Good thing I can't check my blood pressure right now because I am mad.

.....It's Baaaack!!!!

I think it's been about two weeks since we really had a sunny day. Grey skies greeted us as we woke every morning and stuck around all day. Low clouds, grey Lake Michigan merging with a grey sky. Brown and grey trees without their mantle of green (we have to wait for spring for that!).....basically no contrast anywhere.

Everyone was talking about it.....and about their moods and about how the lack of sunshine was just so damn depressing!!

So what fun to wake this morning and notice that the light outside our bedroom shade seemed brighter.....pulling it up and there it was. BLUE sky!!!

Not the best photos.....but here's the proof. The sun has not deserted Wisconsin!

It's Just Below the Surface.....

I am disturbed by the mood of our country right now......it seems so dark, and sad....never mind that the DOW just topped 20,000. I am struggling with the news that comes up every morning......government programs cut/eliminated......people protesting. My daughter asked me yesterday if I can remember an election that resulted in these kinds of feelings since I started voting....and I had to say no. Never.

I went to book club the other day. We were discussing The Nightingale. An excellent historical novel set in WWII France. The hardship, the decisions, the secrets.....the nightmare. Based on real events......so while not completely "correct" it was certainly based on fact.

Part of the story follows the Jews in France and when they were told they would have to wear gold stars on their coats for identification. A fact that most, if not all, of us are well aware of. And how their neighbors either supported them in secret, or turned a cheek and looked the other way.....due to fear. As part of the discussion the leader asked each of us to write down a question....without name attached....and she would use them to start the back-and-forth that makes book clubs so interesting.

My comment had to do with the fact that I thought the book was very timely in our today-world. We have so many in refugee camps around the world.....people leaving their homes unsure if or when they can ever return. We have so many countries where hunger is the norm. Many of the themes in the book seem to echo today. And my specific question was "What would you do if the government decided to institute a Muslim registry in the US?"

Almost complete silence. One member rather angrily said "Well let's not go there." and left the group to go use the rest room. Another said "Oh that would never happen here".....and I responded that people living in France certainly never expected it to happen "there" either.

Basically my question fell into a pool of uncomfortable silence.......and the discussion moved on to other questions.

Then I got home and watched a story on our 5:00 news. We have a very nice new gazebo that was build in Coal Dock Park overlooking Lake Michigan. This new structure has been the site of concerts, weddings, family gatherings. (The pavilion was built in memory of two young men who drowned off Port Washington's shore in 2012.) And now the news reported that "graffiti" decorated the gazebo.....in black spray paint throughout the interior on both the first and second floor. Three swastikas, several phallic symbols and the phrase "fule12".

Three swastikas......ahhhh no..."That would never happen here."

But it did....and it is.....and it's not even just below the surface anymore. It's right out there.....in your face.

What will you do if our government decides to start a Muslim registry??

Pay to Play.......

Just a quick note today. I've been scrolling through my Facebook page.....and of course there are a lot of political entries. Comments about yesterday's Women's March, lots of photographs....lots of comments

I was absolutely amazed to see the numbers of men and women, all over the world, who took to the streets yesterday. It was exciting, encouraging, powerful. I do hope this won't be a one-day-wonder, but that most of the participants will find ways to engage and make a difference starting at the local level.

And again on Facebook, I found several surveys asking me to add my name. One was to require President Trump and all future presidents and office holders to open their tax returns for the public to view. Another was asking me to add my name to an effort to stop the new government from de-funding Planned Parenthood.

I was willing to, and tried to support both of these efforts. I added my name, I included my email address and clicked the "next" button......where I was informed that in order to continue I had to choose an amount to donate to the effort.

That stopped me cold. I do dontate to causes that are important to me.......and will continue to do so. But this just made me mad.....pay to play.

How typical.