One step closer....

We're finally done. We've moved out of our house and onto the boat...for good. The idea seems simple but the task itself was very complicated. It started with me getting vertigo about a week and a half ago. Not so good on land, even worse on a boat. Then, in the last week of packing, moving furniture to storage, loads and loads to the boat, piles of trash to the dump...Andy breaks his foot at work after shooting a special for National Geographic. I have a whole new respect for both single parents and men in general. I have to say that I prefer "woman's work." If I never have to move furniture again, load a truck, or drive a truck, I'll be ok with that.

The boat is an absolute mess though. We haven't even begun to find a place for everything. The head is temporary home to my scuba tanks while the navigation station is currently a garage for Jake's favorite garbage truck.

But we're living on the boat!!! We've been waiting for this for 10 years and it's finally here. While stressful, it was very liberating finally getting rid of all that "stuff" that we just had to have. The last 12 years of our life together was sold for less than $5000. But the freedom to just get up and leave at any time is priceless.

The process continues...

Forget the yard sale, forget the wonderful blessing my father in law gave the boat, foget my fabulous new cushions....the most significant event this far in the process was putting my dog on a plane to the east coast.  Forever.  It was (still is) a very sad day in the McKaskle house. 

It's not like she's going to strangers.  She's going to some of the most loving people I know.  They have a huge house, backyard, swimming pool and two cuddly kids.  But it doesn't make it any easier.  There's just not enough room on the boat and she wouldn't really be happy.  Intellectually, I know this.

I'm going to tell you about Chili dog.  Seven years ago we were stationed in Puerto Rico.  We moved down there knowing no one.  I got lonely and after some major coaxing, I convinced Andy to get a dog.  Stray dogs are to Puerto Rico like Mosquitos are to South Carolina...they're every where.  So it seemed like the obvious thing to do would be to rescue a stray.  We got her from a lady on base who did just that.

Over the course of the next few years, our free dog turned into a money pit.  It takes a lot of effort to clean up a trash dog.  When I took her to the vet to get spayed we found out she was pregnant.  After all that was taken care of, we had to have a huge growth removed from between her paws.  A few months later, a few teeth had to go.  Over the years there were shots, teeth cleanings, more teeth removed, fleas, blah, blah...

But there are way more good memories than there are vet bills...I know she's not dead, but she's gone from us so I think it will help me get over it to write down my favorites (And Andy's, he's just as torn up as I am):

* Camping on Viequez convinced that she was going to be an outdoor dog.  She sat outside the tent whining at all the mosquitos all night (She would NEVER have to sleep outside the tent today).
* Andy laying in the hammock on the deck with Chili in Puerto Rico.
* Snorkling in Culebra with Chili swimming right beside us.  When she got tired, she would climb on Andy's back and lay down.
* Boating on our 22 ft. AquaSport....she would jump off before we even got close to the shore and swim the whole way.
* Running up and down the beach, wherever we lived.
* Fighting with the racoons in VA and getting in the swamp mud...then running back to me with her whole tail end wagging like I should be so proud.
* Almost biting the cable guy because he got too close to Jake when he was a baby.
* Snuggling on the sofa with her when Andy was on deployments and Jake was in bed watching TV.
* Chasing the beverage cart on the golf course behind our house in CA.

Lots of good times.  Now she's off to her new family to make new memories of which I know there will be plenty.

If anyone second guessed our level of seriousness on this sailing adventure, they can quit guessing now.

Keep or Sell?

We've invented a new game in our house...Keep or Sell. Jake and I play every night. Monday we went through his books, Tuesday we did his stuffed animals, last night the toys in his room and tonight we did the big daddy...the play room! He's doing pretty good. The stacks are getting more and more even, although there will definitely be a Round 2.

After coming back from Mexico, I was recharged by being reminded that our lease is up 10/31. That leaves us 39 days to get rid of our stuff and move onto the boat. We're having our second yard sale this Saturday and I've started preparing by putting tiny pink price tags all over the house.

We had a yard sale about a month ago to start this process and basically just got rid of all the stuff you should probably get rid of regardless of whether you're going to live on a boat. My experience here on the west coast was quite overwhelming. This was not my first yard sale, mind you. We are notorious for practically giving things away (We sold brand new window unit air conditioners for $20 each, new clothes for $.25, new lawnmower for $20, you get the idea). So, imagine my frustration when I am met with CONSTANT negotiations. We had 4 basic bar stools and I was asking $30 for the set. They ended up going for $21. The same couple tried to get a 25 cent vase for 15 cents....I mean, come on, I only deal in quarters! If I had a dollar for how many times one woman told me she was spending her last dollar so could I please come down on the price, I could probably fund the first month of our trip (I actually made her borrow the last 20 cents from a total stranger). To add to the frustrations, most of the negotiations were in Spanish (note: I don't speak spanish...yet).


For this yard sale, we've decided to try and avoid this by putting stickers on everything and put a sign up that says "Price as Marked." If we've put too high of a price on it, then it will go back int he garage and come out with a lower price next time around. We'll see how it goes...my goal is to make at least $500. It's possible...