How I spent my summer vacation, Part II:
(the Interlude)

Work like mad to make up for lost time (my 6.2 hours of vacation aren't doing me any good yet, but I probably couldn't keep taking time off like this is I was a full time employee).

Take suitcase to work and leave immediately to make it to that wedding. Leave at 3am to catch a flight home so I can go to work on the way. Eat as much as possible while in NC and feel queasy the whole time. Go straight to work. Swear I'll never do that again.

Work like mad to make up for lost time (boy, that sounds familiar). Take suitcase to work so I can leave immediately to visit my folks. Pick up dogs and daughter (and baggage), swing by summer bbq for visiting relatives on the way out of town. Arrive in Oregon later than I hoped, but still before my sister's delayed flight.

Pack 18 months worth of visiting into 66 hours:

Leave the dogs behind.

Work like mad to squeeze hours into this pay period since I'll be taking off the following week. Swear I'll never do that again.

How I spent my summer vacation, Part I:
(it sure wasn't sleeping...)


Here it is, my home away from home for the summer:

You'll note that this little stove is tipping. This is very exciting. When sailing, the boat tips and when one changes direction, the boat tips the other way. This makes cooking a bit challenging with a fixed stove, and scary when cooking in large, heavy, full-with-simmering-chili pots. But the new stove is gimballed, so it stays horizontal regardless of which way or how much the boat heals. Oh happy day! So, I cooked. Spaghetti, dumpling soup, fish and potatoes, pancakes and sausage, cobblers, brownies, and lots of hot coffee, tea, and chocolate.

The weather was suprisingly cool, although it gave us some lovely days, like this one at Sidney Spit in British Columbia: