Really.....a new chaper

Hi. I'm sitting here writing you from the pilothouse of Quintana, and as I look around I realize that nothing I look at is mine. The cool instrument panel ....not mine, the sink tap I turned on......not mine. The bed I'm sleeping in.....again.....not mine.

We have officially, "money-in-the-bank" sold Quintana, and I honestly don't know how I feel. I'm excited, yes....I've been sittin' my butt in Canada for a year waiting to start my life here, but to not have our "Magic Carpet" anymore.....well, it just plain sucks. Quintana was always our escape, our emergency exit if things didn't work out here, and the fact that we no longer have that...well, it gives me a bit of anxiety.....maybe that's why I've had a few glasses of wine, and am now trying unsuccessfully to do breathing exercises to calm myself. Quintana was our home....sounds so simple to say that word...home, but my-o-my how "loaded" a word. Quintana was our home, our haven, our magic carpet, our savior in bad weather, the "entity" which brought us to places that were beautiful...magical.....it, after our adventures, brought us back to our roots when we needed it. It was so many things to us, and I will miss her. I wish her well in Newfoundland. I wish her new owners all the best.

Bon Voyage Quintana.

picture: Boat launched, new decks, and sails installed. Ready to make the trip to Cape Breton.

New Decks!

Just some pictures of the finished decks. Still need to do a myriad of things before we set sail to deliver her to her new owners, but the big, yucky, nasty work on the deck is complete. YIPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEE!

Fastforward

Hi everyone. It's been a while...I know, but .....holy man, we've been busy. I'm going to condense a super busy last couple of months in one blog. Please know, that within the "humdrum" facts that I will lay out for you, there were all these tiny bursts of emotion, physical exhaustion, laughing, crying, long night discussions, and personal thoughts that both Paul and I had NOT mentioned here. Suffice it to say, we've been busy:

We helped Mel and Fedora move. Gosh, one sentence so loaded. It took a full month to do that.

Paul and I have sold Quintana. Man....another loaded sentence. Our home, our magic carpet is sold. (well, keeping our finger's crossed....like they say...it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings).

There was a condition of sale: we needed to put new side decks on. And that...my friends...is where we are now. It is an extremely expensive project...one we were planning on doing, but now that we are essentially doing it for someone else....well, it saddens me in a way I didn't think it would. Shall I explain????? We wanted to sell Quintana, but doing all this work on her (and boy-o-boy this is work my friends) gives me moments of rememberance.........that Quintana was our home for so long, that she deserves this "makeover" but that we won't enjoy her in all her new "nips and tucks." I ask myself "why are we doing this now, and not before?" I know the answer, well the rational part of me does......We were cruising. We were enjoying her. We were "out there." But it still makes me a bit sad.

But, on a brighter note. She is looking good and STRONG with new side decks. I'll show you the process so far.

Pictures:
1. Taking off the deck! Yikes, what a BIG, HUGE, and MESSY job.
2. Sanding/grinding of old plywood leftover on deck. Did I mention HUGE, BIG MESSY job. Yuck, and double Yuck!
3. Laying down of clear cedar.....ahhhh, this one I love....we spent more money on the bloody epoxy and cedar than Paul and I have spent on our entire wardrobes for the last 3 years...and people, I'm NOT kidding!
4. After expoxying (sp?) down cedar and fairing (that took an entire weekend with Mel helping.), we are ready for fiberglassing. Gosh, it sounds easy when I write this, but it's soooo not.
5. Fiberglassing. We are using epoxy and fiberglass. Again, spending more on this than 6 months of groceries! Double, triple yikes!

We Miss SAILING!!!!!!

Hey everyone. I'm sitting inside a HOUSE, awaiting a snow storm..wondering what in God's green and blue earth are we doing on land? We should be in a warm sun-soaked harbour somewhere, anchored......ANCHORED ON A BOAT....NOT, and I repeat NOT "Anchored" in a HOUSE!!!!!!!!!! I should have salt-crusted hair, and Paul should have the choice of wearing shoes or not. I should be wearing a bathing suit on a daily basis, and Paul should be deciding whether or not he'll be throwing out a line for some fish or changing the oil in the engine. Instead, we are working on my paperwork for permanent residency in Canada, at some point buying a home and staying in Canada for a couple of years while my residency goes through. I know that this is important and that we have to do this...but let me tell you folks....it ain't fun. I miss cruising, I miss cruising, I miss cruising. Even the things that use to annoy me on the boat, I'd take in a heartbeat. I'd relish a 5 minute shower in the cockpit ducking down when a dinghy zooms by, so the world doesn't see me in all my glory. Give me the sound of the current gurgling noisely by when I'm trying to sleep in our forward cabin. And sure....icecream in the freezer on land is great, but I miss the joy I got when getting icecream as a treat from a local cafe after a long offshore passage. I'd even take arriving in dense fog with the radar deciding to go "caputskiii" into a super busy port right now. I just want to be back on a boat. It's where Paul and I belong.



I just needed to vent a bit......thanks.

Holiday Greetings

We wish EVERYONE a Happy Holiday.

We wish peace among men,
Love, and joy with family,
We hope one day war will end,
and the world will be filled with happiness.

Love to all.
Paul and Christine
pictures:
1. The Melanson Christmas.
2. Zach and Me playing in the Snow. Super fun!
3. Paul sharing a laugh!
4. Paul, Mike and Zach with Larry the Snowman. (my first snowman!)
5. Mike, Danielle, and Zach in their homemade pjs Christmas morning.

Travelin'

Hi. Well, I talked a little bit about Louisiana on the last blog, so now some bits of info on Texas. We had a great time in Texas with my family. The time went by super fast, and we stayed busy the whole time. My parent's Winnebego got a face-lift via the help of Paul and me. Well, mostly Paul. I was basically the "assistant." Get this, get that......Paul loved it! :)
Anyway, the Winnebego looks new inside.

We also had enjoyable evenings playing Scrabble, chess, and just sitting around talking.

Too soon, it was time to go, and Paul and I raced up to Canada in 5 days. It was a tiring trip but we were anxious to get back up to start filling in my immigration paperwork.

Here are some pictures of the trip:
1. Steve (my brother), and Mason (nephew)
2. Paul and I on a hike in Arkansas.
3. Paul and Cooper (nephew) at my brother David's place.
4. David (brother), Kasey (sis-in-law), Mackenna , Bailey, and Cooper. Family picture .
5. David and Paul goofing around.

Louisiana and Texas

Hi everyone! Here are some pictures from Louisiana. The first picture is a HUGE Live Oak. These are very common in Louisiana, and they can span a 1/3 of an acre!!!!....They are just so gosh darn beautiful and majestic, I never get tired of looking at them. This one was taken at one of the plantations we went to see in Louisiana. The second pic is one of the "traditional" plantations of Louisiana....I could say it's my grannie's house, but then I would just plain be pulling your lil' ol' leg now wouldn't I? The last two pics are of the pet turkey, Fred from one of the plantations and the two of us. This little guy was NOT afraid of us, and was a little ham in front of the camera....it loved getting it's picture taken, and took a likin' to our car.....he just wouldn't get away from it!!!!! We had such a good time in Louisiana! The next time I'll talk a little bit about Texas....that's where we've been the month of November. Hope all is well with everyone!