Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Nothing to do with writing

But everything to do with the state of my mind. For me I have to be relaxed and not stressed to be able to write and plot. Makes sense, right? I do write when I'm stressed but I find the words are more forced, but I can always edit later. I'd just rather be in the right frame of mind. So - today, I thought I'd share something a bit more personal. The boat.

The boat is actually my husband's pride and joy, a project that has taken seven years to complete. We bought the 30' sailboat the week before my son was born. He's 22 now. And we had to pull her for repairs seven years ago. We had every intention of returning her to the water in a timely fashion, but life got in the way so she sat in our drive forever.

Well, she's back in the water and looking fine. And - I went sailing for the first time in about 8 years. The day couldn't have been prettier. That night, the moon was full. I came home with all sorts of ideas. Sailing is a great way to relax and let your imagination flow. Of course, it helped that the boys did all the work. My only job was handing DH the wench handle after a tack. So the first picture was the in-progress-before shot.  Here's the finished shot. Well, sorta finished. This was before we got the sails for her. She's a 30' 1976 Albin Ballad with a fixed keel.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Captain Tony's Bar

We went on a cruise to the Bahamas last week and one of our stops was Key West. We love Key West as it holds fond memories and one of our favorite stopping places is Captain Tony's Bar. It feels like a cave, dark and cozy. The ceiling and walls are decorated with years and years worth of business cards and - bras. No - I didn't leave my bra, but I did leave a bookmark.