Saturday, April 2, 2016

One of These Days ...

I might talk about mental illness and mental health. But today I just want to talk about how amazingly blessed and lucky I am. Again. Today was 'get the dinghy in the water after getting the engine and getting it running and getting a trailer and getting someone to drive that trailer' day. I'd do caps on all of those words but why? 

What I can do is tell you that the process of the above involved a half dozen good hearted people. The last of which, whose name I'll name, is Jean Francois. He picked up the trailer I borrowed from another kind person and loaded it up (oops, I forgot the two guys at Susie's who came out of the kitchen to help get it on the trailer; that makes 8...and Susie and Jacinto who have been awesome all along and I was just thinking of this stage but they were in on it so that makes 10). We drove to the launching area and I confessed I was a bit nervous, not having done this for three years. He said, Don't worry, I'll help you and I won't judge.' Are there kinder words? Are there words anyone wants to hear more when they want to do something very much but are nervous too? No there are not. It was perfect. He was perfect. Thank you, my young friend. 

He gave me a shove off and gave me advice (like, ok, put it in gear now, very helpful) and with a huge grin waved me away like I could do this. And I did. And I did.

She might not look like much to anyone else but she's my freedom machine!
It's not like I've done nothing else but right now it feels like that. Yet when I go back through the photos, some other big events happened.

There are so many flowers blooming everywhere. Many of them are still on my phone, but there are a few for here.

This whole tree is so delicate

I don't remember what this is but I like it
A huge (or YUGE as we say now) moment was getting my inverter going. Plugging in and counting on sun power? Oh yes! Through all of my solar and outboard and fire fixings, Jesse has been beyond excellent. "We made FIYAH!!!!!! and POWAH!!!" Ok, he did but if cheerleading helps, I did too. I want to super glue him to our world!

He's not a short guy but somehow made everything work in one elegant space,
known as a bench seat but secretly known as power central.

It should be so easy to make fire. It wasn't. Thank you, Jesse and thank you, Mike G. 
How I looked when I turned on the propane to my stove and it worked.
Color me tiredly grateful.
And then there was that BIG storm! It was rockin' and rollin' and rainin' something fierce! Which was pretty awesome really. 


After it was over, the night heron came swooping over. We played stare eyes for a long time while he shook his bedraggled self into something respectable once more. I don't know where he spent the storm but protected he was not. 

First stink eye. He looked like hell and he knew it.





I got stink eyes a few times but this was near before he flew.
After he was slightly less a wreck.
I promised not to laugh anymore.
I took my gas and oil over to Susie's early this morning in anticipation of the move. The engine was already there (thanks more, Jesse) and it was time for all the components to come together. But I did have to stop when I saw three of four goats all crowded onto this large block because...hey, it was there.

I love these goats
And, as a show was once called back in the day, that was the week that was. Tomorrow is another day, with a solar oven demonstration at the library at 11 (yes, THAT solar oven, come check it out!). Eventually I'll get moved from here to yonder and new views await. 

Life is good. Crazy as hell, but oh so very good. 

Have a saviouring Saturday. Do something slipping in sweetness with a smile.

8 comments:

  1. Very warming. Lovely yellow blossoms and it was good to see Jesse's face again. Also the glimpse of you, Cap'nMJ xox

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    1. Always good to hear from you. Have an excellent Sunday and week ahead, dear Mary.

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  2. A great leap forward, with the help of all those kind and capable hands !! Congratulations. . . may your freedom machine bring you joy and peace and great adventures.
    (Love the bedraggled bird pics :))

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    1. Thanks! Glad you liked the bird, he entertains me daily.

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  3. Your dinghy looks adorable, it's you! Glad to see you have a backup oar, that way if the engine fails, you can row in a circle until someone says "What the hell is MJ doing?" and comes to your rescue. Glad to see cooking fire on your boat. We tried.

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    1. Yes, unfortunately the other oar was lost long ago when I was tied up near Dinghy Dock by some idiot jamming through making such a big wake it literally bounced out of the boat and was swept away in the current, never to be found. But I like your scenario, because it will probably happen one of these days! Oh, and the fix for the tank was crazy...it wasn't the regulator, it WAS the tank. J put a screw into the nozzle and then put on the third regulator bought (that didn't work either) and wa la, fire! Yeah, I know.

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    2. I filled up our boat propane tank this weekend. I asked the guy about purging the tank. He said, Yep, a new tank has to be purged because air is on top of the gas and air won't burn. His words. Dontcha love learnin'?

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