1/30

1/29

I learned all about vertical call and put spreads and optional straddles and strangles from Nick and Pat today.


Meanwhile, Len and Audrey did this awesomeness:

240.1

1/28

The new shower proceeds:

FSBO plan

Today I began outlining a FSBO plan:

• Collect key documents (title, survey, mortgage, insurance, etc.)
• Plan selling costs (home repairs, appraiser, attorney, title company, etc.)
• Decide what to pay buyers' agents and how and whether to advertise that.
• Get appraisal
• Choose price
• Choose attorney
• Compile house book (vital stats, disclosures)
• identify what disclosures must be in it
• identify what other numbers to put in
• lay it out
• print it up
• Make flyers
• Get yard sign
• Schedule some open houses
• Post to paid sites (MLS, Realtor.com, etc)
• Post to free sites (craigslist, zillow, trulia, etc)
• Socialize to friends, neighbors
• Market to realtors?

Audrey did a great job with lesson 56.  She's actually getting to where she can almost read at normal speed on the second pass through those stories.

We got a bunch of stuff for fixing up the upstairs shower and kitchen.

-32.5 @ 238.7

1/26

Len just came into town, so now we'll get some stuff done!

I spent some time researching FSBO stuff this evening.

Big step today, as recommended by the Live on the Margin guys -- we ditched our TV bill...

-33.6 @ 237.6

1/25

I got to read Live on the Margin for about an hour today.  Options are a real mind-bender.

Audrey did a great job with lesson 56.

-31.7 @ 239.5

1/24

I tested out that new paint in a couple spots and it's a perfect match in color and sheen. So maybe we can get away with some spot jobs rather than having to do any big expensive paint jobs.

I was doing some research on good boating books for the kids and came up with some candidates:

The Craft of Sail: A Primer of Sailing
Swallows and Amazons
Sarah's Boat: A Young Girl Learns the Art of Sailing
Sail Away
Kids for Sail
Time of Wonder

Time for a nice chapter of South from Alaska...

-30.3 @ 240.9

1/23

I got to read about 10 minutes on options today.

I got paint color-matched for some interior jobs and got yet another new locking knob to replace the newly-broken on the old door.  sigh...

It was a big day for realizations, not least of which is that I need more sleep, so it will have to wait for another day sometime soon for me to write about the the significance of taking down our baby gates; how the whole family getting hit with the flu led to the best day I've had in a couple years; and to elaborate on the importance or reducing your nut.

And Audrey killed on lesson 55.

-28.6 @ 242.6

Back from the dead

We all had the flu. Thus the failure to the blog. Actually I'm the only one over it at this point. Poor girls.

I got a new functional knob and deadbolt into our new front door and took some chips from the wall to get color-matched at the depot tomorrow.

I started the options chapter in Live on the Margin.

Audrey and I started The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. She did awesome on lesson 53 in TYCTR.

Lorelei asked to play word games today and wouldn't stop until lesson 3. I don't think she's quite up to it just yet, as I have to help her get most of the answers, but she certainly enjoys the ritual.

1/18

It was good to reread the fading stuff, because I'd overlooked a couple things: 1) We want to see RSI over 70 or under 30 when the swing candle forms, and 2) The confirmation candle (closed between 1st and 2nd BB) must be in the direction of the of the trade.

I Don't Want To Go!

We have been dealing with a new behavior from Audrey lately. She doesn't want to do ANYTHING! Every morning we discuss our plans for the day and no matter what the plans she always says 'I don't want to do that!' Today it was ski lessons, yesterday was school, and the day before was dance class. All things she normally loves. Of course, after she is done with the activity, she loved it, had so much fun, and can't wait for the next one. In fact, her ski instructor told me that she had an amazing attitude today, and was the only kid that never said "I can't."  Jacob and I have tried lots of responses to her refusals, some that I'm more proud of then others, but it persists. I am getting very frustrated. I think I will be searching the Love and Logic resources tonight!

A few ski pictures:

The little ski bunny

Audrey with her Eldorables group and instructor Holly

1/17

I got in another hour of Live on the Margin today. I decided to go back and re-read some of the material on fade trading to make sure I'm really getting it. Pretty sure I've got it locked in at this point.

The strategy (from memory) is to watch for a stock you know well to touch its 3rd Bollinger Band (3 standard deviations from the 20-day SMA) as traders overreact to some news item, then form a closed one-hour candle between the 1st and 2nd BBs. You place a limit order at the closing price for that candle with a stop at the swing low, then wait for the price to cross the 20 SMA. Sell half there, set the stop for the remainder at break-even, and target the 2nd BB for profit.

I would love to find out from the guys if they backtest and if so, how.

1/15

I'm starstruck. I got a note from Pat of Bumfuzzle and Live on the Margin fame. He had some kind words of encouragement for us so that was nice.

I got in a good hour of reading his book on the bus today. I finished the chapter on swing trading and began the chapter on trading fades.

We also read another great chapter of South from Alaska.

April got a quote from a handyman for helping out with some of our more involved projects to fix up the house and I was actually pleasantly surprised.

-27.5 @ 243.6

Tidying up

We have been so busy lately trying to figure out how to sell our house. Are we crazy for trying to do it ourselves? I look at the steps involved and it doesn't seem so hard, but then the execution of it is daunting! But really...is hiring someone worth close to $10,000? That is a lot of boat re-fitting we could do. I'm also pretty freaked out by the thought of having to keep this place clean all of the time. Anyone who has ever lived with me, or even come over to my house for that matter, knows that I'm not naturally the most tidy person in the world, and that was even before I had two young girls to help me clutter it up. How do tidily-challenged, busy moms do this? I need some advice!

One piece that is coming along nicely is the website. Jacob did a beautiful job with it. We just have a few more pictures and details to add to it and it will be done!

Here are some recent pictures of the girls, just for fun:

Audrey at her 1st day of Eldorables

Audrey at the Boat Show

1/16

Got to spend another pleasant hour on the bus with Live on the Margin.  I love about this book that it is very concrete and specific in its recommendations.  That's pretty unusual in trading books in my experience.

Audrey did great with lesson 52.

1/15

I'm starstruck. I got a note from Pat of Bumfuzzle and Live on the Margin fame. He had some kind words of encouragement for us so that was nice.

I got in a good hour of reading his book on the bus today. I finished the chapter on swing trading and began the chapter on trading fades.

We also read another great chapter of South from Alaska.

April got a quote from a handyman for helping out with some of our more involved projects to fix up the house and I was actually pleasantly surprised.

-27.5 @ 243.6

1/14

I picked up a bunch of stuff we need for the house fix-up list: a light fixture for the kitchen; towel ring for the upstairs bathroom; slides for the kitchen drawer; locking knob for the front door; flat white interior paint.

Audrey did a great job with lessons 50 and 51 tonight. We've finally broken out of the morse code business from the first 50 lessons.

My withholding went up $3900 this year. Can't wait to stop working for a paycheck...

1/13

I did some more research on Vancouvers today. They seem like very nice passage-makers.

Also did some more tasks in preparation for a showing next weekend. With each showing we get the place gradually more ship-shape. By spring it should be just about ready.

Here's the kanban we're using:

1/12

We went to the boat show. As expected there wasn't a whole lot to see, but it was fun anyway. The only sail boat was a Precision 23, which was cute. The most exciting thing to happen was undoubtedly when Audrey was picked from the crowd of something like 100 kids to hold Twiggy the water-skiing squirrel.

We also got a call from another person interested in seeing the house, which provided the motivation for me to put on a burst of housework in preparation. If nothing else we should have new, improved pictures to post soon.

1/11

I'm sick today.

Audrey worked on lesson 50. She was doing great and then just got frustrated with herself. I'm not sure what's going on exactly. Will have to consider how to proceed.

Boat show tomorrow.

-25, 246.2

1/10

Spent another quality hour with Pat and Nick today.  I need to write up some notes on their strategies.

Audrey struggled a bit with lesson 49.  Honestly I think she was just too tired.  She is such a determined little thing though.  I had to command her to set it aside and do some coloring.

Time to wind down with a nice chapter from South from Alaska...

247.5

1/9

Oh, I'm late for bed, but have good progress to report on several fronts.  Audrey did a a great job with the latest lesson in TYCTR this evening.  We've read another chapter from South from Alaska and find it not only beautifully written but incredibly motivating and inspiring.  I was able to forge ahead in Live on the Margin with a good 75 minutes on the bus today.  I also finally cracked open The Homeschooling Book of Answers, which my good Raothbardian pal, Whitney gave us and also found it most encouraging and motivating.  And finally, a third good weigh-in in a row this morning.  Good night!

-24 @ 247.2

1/8

Making good progress getting the office show-able upstairs. We did the next two lessons in TYCTR. We read another chapter of South from Alaska.

-23 @ 248.1

1/7

We took the girls swimming today and did laps on the water slide. It was lots of fun and great confidence-building for them. Audrey's really impressing me with her solo sliding. She comes off the bottom into water too deep to stand, is momentarily submerged, and pops up laughing and swimming for the ladder to go again. It's just a matter of time until she realizes that Mom or Dad waiting at the bottom is only a formality. Lorelei is crazy for the slide too and but demonstrates a comforting degree of reserve about approaching it alone, in contrast to her pattern of plunging in unhesitatingly at Thanksgiving.

Audrey did lesson 47 or thereabouts in TYCTR.

We read several chapters of South from Alaska, by Mike Litzow, about his family's first expedition from Kodiak to Australia, with their infant son (which they subsequently repeated with another infant son!). It's beautifully written, and especially interesting to us, not only because of the special place AK holds in our hearts, but because Mike's nephew is a schoolmate of Audrey's.

-22.4 @ 248.7

1/6

Worked on the last of the office shelving mess and made it worse in the process. One foot in front of the other...

252.4

1/5

We got our improved photos of the girls' rooms up and have been reading more of Live on the Margin.

My weight has been problematic. I'm back up to 250. I may have to actually start getting some exercise besides the simple calorie reduction I've pursued until now.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Our 9th anniversary! We've been adventurers from the start. From Y Tu Mama Tambien and planning our first drive to AK on our first date; to our first long drive together, to Thunder Bay; to our surprise weekend in Cabo, en la Casa Mananitas, when we witnessed a solar eclipse sinking into the Pacific; to our drive and train trip to Moosonee and Moose Factory, when we hired a taxi to take us to the dump to see the bears; to our drive out to Caniapiscau, when we spent the night in an abandoned hunting lodge, and had Mom and Dad call the Mounties out to look for us when we were late returning; to our first drive to AK, when I proposed in the Yukon, and we saw wild herds of buffalo along the road in BC, more bears and eagles then we could count, herds of Musk oxen and Caribou on the tundra north of the Brooks Range, paid $5 for a gallon of gas before paying $5 was an everyday thing in the Lower 48, and waded in the Arctic Ocean at Prudhoe Bay; to our wedding in Tulum; to our return to AK to live in Girdwood, then Juneau, then Anchorage, with all the attendant Dahl sheep, beluga and humpback whales, moose, brown and black bears, orcas, spawning zombie salmon and aurora; to our move to Nederland. It's really just inevitable that we should cruise, isn't it?

moments after Jacob proposed on our way to Alaska in the Yukon Territory

Miss Unicornia Fancy Pants

I was reading an old article on SAILfeed about naming your boat, and it started a big discussion between me and Jacob. It felt just like we were pregnant again, and trying to name our new little girl before she got here. We did a lot of throwing out names and either vetoing them immediately or putting them on a favorites list. I think we must have each suggested more then 50 names. We realized that we like names in Spanish (everything is just a little prettier in Spanish), or that are a little fantastical or whimsical or silly (in honor of our silly, fantasical and whimsical little girls that will be living aboard with us), or we like the little girl names we had for our babies that didn't quite make it, but still hold a special place. 

Here is our short list:
Unicornia
Fancy Pants
Sprite
Lark
Starship

Who knows with us though...we are always changing our minds :). Which is your favorite? Any other ideas that fit with our likes, and the rules of naming a boat?

Isn't this one pretty? I think she looks like a Lark

1/2

I put more of dent in Live on the Margin today. It's a great book. Pat and Nick have an uncommon amount of common sense and a great talent for delivering simultaneously prodigious doses of realism and optimism.

Celebrating

Christmas Eve with Great Grandma Verna

We have been doing a ton of celebrating lately! We had a couple of Christmas parties with friends, a big Christmas Eve party at my Aunt Danielle and Uncle Jim's house. It was really great! The next day we had Christmas dinner with my mom, stepdad and brother. Then for New Years Eve we had our good friends Josh and Alyssa up for fondue with their sweet little boys. Thankfully my girls LOVE to party. I think they could keep going and going. Jacob and I are both pretty pooped out though. Jacob is definitely fantasizing about Christmas on Christmas Island next year (he is a little more introverted :)) . Here are some photos from our fun-filled holidays:

Lorelei with Uncle Jim

Getting fancy with cousin Zach

Christmas morning

couldn't wait to put her new dress-up clothes on

making scones with Daddy on Christmas morning

Christmas Dinner

Happy New Years!

1/1

We got some nice new pictures of the girls' rooms for the house site, though we haven't gotten them posted yet. Audrey did a great job with whatever lesson it was that we did in TYCTR. Still really enjoying Live on the Margin.

Blogging is kind of a crazy thing. You can never make any assumptions about who might of might not be reading...

12/31/2011

We cleaned up Audrey's room, which was the last of our unaddressed persistent messes. It's actually never been truly clean since we moved in. Her closet especially. Nice to have that out of the way and very helpful for showing...

Here are my resolutions for 2013:

1. To eliminate all our debt -- no mortgage, no unsecured credit, no student loans. We want to cast off free of financial obligations.

2. To get to 200 pounds. That should be do-able. Since 9/10, when I weighed 271.2, I've averaged .23 pounds per day. To get to 200 by 2014, I'll have to do at least .12 pounds per day. When I strap into the bosun's chair, I don't want to wonder if the line will hold.

3. To continue to take concrete steps daily toward our goal, and to continue to be accountable to the blog for reporting those steps.

-25.9 @ 245.3 (38.7 off my all-time high of 284)

12/30

I've been forging ahead in Live on the Margin. I'm really digging that book.

I've also developed a schoolboy crush on a Vancouver 32. No typo -- a 32. April is understandably skeptical but just take a look at this: http://m.yachtworld.com/mobile/boats/1986/Vancouver-Pilot-House-2486905/Bayfield/WI/United-States.

Another one we both fell in love with today is the Hans Christian 38. There are a number of them available in the 60 to 80 range. Those are truly beautiful boats, widely acknowledged as capable blue water cruisers.

247.9

12/29

I've been really getting into Live on the the Margin, which just came out from Pat Schulte (s/v Bumfuzzle) and Nick O'Kelly. It's primarily a book about leverage and technical analysis, which is why I wanted to read it. What I hadn't expected was all the other great content in the first several chapters. Pat and Nick spend some time talking about why this lifestyle is a reasonable choice and not mere indulgence. Their analysis of financial, economic, and political dynamics actually verges on praxeological. Good stuff!

-22.8 @ 248.6

12/28

We finished up Adventure on the High Sea!.  That was a great one and Audrey especially enjoyed it.

I've made some improvements on our listing site and we got a call from a guy who's interested in a showing in a couple weeks.

-23.3 @ 247.9

12/27

We put together a listing site for our house: 252switz.blogspot.com.  It's not done, but it's a good start.  We had a bite from another potential buyer, so we'll be preparing for a showing soon.  That will give us the opportunity to get some more and better pictures.

-22.2 @ 249.0

12/26

Audrey read her longest story yet tonight. That was Lesson 43. I'm looking forward to Lesson 50, when we'll lose all the Morse code and cocodrilos...

April had an inspiring chat with a friend the other day about FSBO, so we're going to give that a good try.  

Mom and Dad sent us a bunch of great boating books for Christmas: Inspecting the Aging Sailboat, Sailing Fundamentals, Adventure on the High Seas, and Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Started Sailing.  Oh, and  of course, Scuppers, The Sailor Dog.  We've been enjoying them all.  In fact we're almost already done with Adventure, which is the true story of a family who spent a year cruising from England to Maine, via Spain, Portugal, the Canaries, Gambia, the Windward Islands and Lesser Antilles, and Bermuda.  We've read the whole thing aloud to the girls, who've been eating it up.  Also, Genius Denied, which looks like it will be inspiring in our educational efforts with the girls.  Thanks guys!

Happy Christmas

Happy Christmas everyone! I gave myself leave to miss the last couple days, as you can tell.

My favorite Christmas song this year has been Christmas on Christmas Island. Though there are at least 2 Christmas Islands so I'm not sure which one the song refers to, but I'll take either.

I forgot to weigh this morning but I'm certainly up. I'll get back on top of it.

12/22

We cleaned up another persistent mess today, this one in Lorelei's room. It's pretty much showable now, I think.

12/20

Audrey wanted to do lessons 38, 49, and 40 tonight. It was really awesome to watch. I believe we are past a tipping point now and she'll be reading her own books in a matter of a couple months. It's great not only because, I mean, she can read, but also because I can teach. That's going to be important as we cruise.

This evening we were reading about Guatemala in World Cruising Destinations. Rio Dulce sounds like a really neat place. It winds through the tropical rainforest far inland to a big lake -- Izabal -- and is lined with little indigenous Mayan communities. And the no visa thing is great, of course.

I put a big dent in one of our last remaining serious messes-- the upstairs shelving. Very satisfying to get that cleaned up.

I threw out a pair of 44 pants and pulled out a bunch of barely-used 40s Len had given me from a client of his who'd lost a lot of weight. I'm really excited to be able to fit into those. It's been quite awhile since I could wear 40s...

-22.4 @ 248.8

12/19

Lesson 37 went great.  I think she needs for us to drop some of the repetition.

We got the Bumfuzzle book.  I'm only about 4 paragraphs in, but it definitely starts strong.

We're going to read some Your Boat Too...

-22.4 @ 248.8

12/18

Audrey did a great job of lesson 36 this evening. Early this morning I heard her talking in her room and when I stuck my head in she was sounding out words in one of her books. Also she is doing mental addition which blew my mind. And Lo counted to 9 which also blew my mind. No idea if it's early for those or just on time but I didn't know these girls knew how to do those things.

April and I read the entries in World Cruising Destinations Tunisia, Turkey and Ukraine. I'd love to get to see the Swallow's Nest Fortress in Yalta, the Bosporus and Ephasus, and I love the idea of spending a few weeks in Tunisia which requires no visa.

-23.2 @ 248.0

Here is a little sample I (April) took of them working on TYCTR:

12/17

I actually didn't get a single thing done today, other than staying on my dietary plan.  And I did have good success on the scale this morning.

-22.7 @ 248.5

I got one half of the kitchen cabinets all oiled. The parched wood sucks up the oil and looks a lot better after. It's probably hard to really see the effects in this picture but for what it's worth...

Audrey did a great job with lessons 35 and 36 this evening. She was really excited to get 3 new primers from GranMiri and immediately dove into sounding out the stories. Thanks GM!

-21.2 @ 250.0

12/15

I got rid of these mangy old mercury-laden thermostats today and replaced them with ...

... fancy new blurry ones like this.


Audrey and I did lesson 31, I think.  We're both much happier since we shed the big black rectangles between words a couple lessons back.


I had a very frustrating experience with the scale this morning.  Back up to 251.8.  I'll just keep at it until I break through...

 -19.4 @ 251.8

Notes on COLREG from Your Boat Too

A "vessel" is a craft propelled by non-human, non-animal power.

Most privileged to least:

1. any vessel overtaken
2. any vessel with restricted movement due to physical constraints of the environment or the work in which it's engaged
3. a sailing vessel.  Not a sailboat, but a sailing vessel.  A sailboat moving under power is not a sailing vessel.
4. a vessel under power
5. a seaplane

Stand-on vessels should not alter course or speed.

Power vessels (including sailboats under power)

• meeting head on should alter course to pass port to port
• starboard vessel crossing is stand-on (mnemonic: right has right-of way)
• overtaken vessel is stand-on

Sailing vessels

• meeting or crossing on the same tack, the windward vessel must give way
• meeting or crossing on opposite tacks, the vessel on starboard tack is stand-on
• overtaken vessel is stand-on

Lights

• under way
• white stern light visible in 135-degree arc
• white masthead steaming light visible in a 225-degree arc forward when under power (not when sailing)
• green starboard running light visible in an arc to 112.5 degrees aft
• red port running light 
• at anchor: white 360 degree anchor light (visible for at least 2 miles?)
• towing something less than 200 meters aft, must two white 225-degree masthead lights.  more than 200 meters, must display 3

Audrey's doing really well with TYCTR, and spontaneously sounds out words she sees on signs and magazines and stuff.  We're around lesson 30 or so, and she's getting really good at reading the "fast way" which is sounding the word out in your head before saying the word out loud.

-20.3 @ 250.9

12/14/2012

I am so sad for the parents of the children killed in Connecticut this morning! I can't even imagine the heartache. More proof of the fact that terrible things can happen anywhere, anytime. 

I have had a few people really worried that our sailing adventure will not be safe, and have even told me they think we will not come back alive. I have tried to mention bad things can happen anywhere, and that we will try to be as prepared as possible. At times I have worried myself that it could be dangerous, and of course I would never want to endanger my children. Now, more then ever, I am convinced that we should be living life to the fullest while we can. 

my babies enjoying life

12/12/12

I missed posting yesterday out of sheer exhaustion.  We ran out of gas on the Peak-to-Peak in Rollinsville, and upon getting home at 9:30 I passed out in bed.  

We'd remarked on the way down to Blackhawk that we needed to be sure to stop at the one gas station between there and Ned when we headed back.  Well, we forgot.  I freaked out, to put it mildly, at the prospect of having my wife, daughters, and dog stuck on the side of the road after dark with the temperature at 24 degrees and falling, while I hiked for gas.  In fact it was all a breeze.  We stopped in front of Help Towing, and when we called the number, the guy said he'd be there in five minutes and had a few gallons he could sell us, which all worked out perfectly.

The big lesson for me, going over the episode today, is to handle things more calmly.  As the skipper of a vessel, at least as important as expert seamanship is inspiring confidence in the crew and facilitating their optimal performance.  This is obviously incompatible with freaking out.  So, another thing to work on.  Another area in which the time is upon me now to get around to a little overdue growing-up.

On a different note, we'd gone down to Blackhawk to horse around in the Gilpin pool, and I'm just blown away and thrilled with the confidence and skill that our girls are building in the water.  Audrey was going to the bottom for sunken rings and even did the water slide by herself for the first time, twice.  And that's a pretty big water slide.  And Lorelei is completely fearless.  She'll just walk straight in to water up to her chin.  She could maybe use a little more fear, but I'm so proud of her.

-19.7 @ 251.5

Christmas Spirit

It's been a challenge, but we are finally really getting into the Christmas spirit around here! I love Christmas, and normally like to start the preparation as close to finishing up Thanksgiving as possible. Every year I make a new set of christmas CDs for my car. Unfortunately, my computer was destroyed last year right after Christmas, and I still haven't gotten all my music onto the one I'm now sharing with Jacob. After many hours studying itunes tutorials, and downloading new software though, I was able to download a few CDs that I had already purchased last year! Yeah me! I also bought a new kids Christmas CD by Laurie Berkner. It's very good! The girls really like it. Jacob's current favorite Christmas song is Christmas Island, we can tell where his head is at :). 

Checking out the Christmas Lights in Blackhawk

Santa 2012

Audrey with Santa 2009

Jacob and I have had a fake tree ever since we tried to keep a cute little potted tree (Albert the Alberta Spruce) over Christmas while we were living in Alaska. Albert died way before Christmas, I'm still not sure what we did wrong, and I was really sad about it. It was probably a mixture of having named him, being away from our family that year, and watching something die. Ever since, I have not wanted a live tree. Last year our fake tree died (lights went out and big branch broken), so the plan was to get a new one from Costco this year. Unfortunately, by the time I got there they only had the giant $650 trees left. In the parking lot they were selling what they advertised as 6.5' trees for $40 bucks though, so we are trying a real tree again. After getting the tree home though, we realized it was way larger then 6.5' because it didn't fit in our house. Jacob had to saw the bottom and the top, and it is a MONSTER! It takes up a really large amount of the room. Watering it is pretty crazy too! One of us has to army crawl under the thing and use a special pumpy thing we bought to water it. Having a real tree is a lot of work! One huge perk though, the house smells awesome, and the girls had so much fun decorating it. 

 We also made our annual trip to the mall to visit Santa. Audrey was pretty cute! When I told her where we were going she said, 'Oh good! I have really been missing that guy!' Lorelei on the other hand, was not a fan of Santa. The whole time I was trying to set her down, she was saying 'no thank you mama, no thank you!' I think she thought if she was really polite she could get out of it. I still feel really guilty about making her sit there, even if it was only for 30 seconds. I picked her up almost as fast as it started. The picture is really cute though, even if she is crying in it. It's funny, I have a really cute picture of Audrey from around the same age crying too (she wasn't crying until the end when I picked her up). Audrey only asked Santa for one thing this year, a doctor's kit...I guess I better get on that. 

12/10

I got the cement and grout all cleaned up in the mud room and reinstalled the interior molding.  So now here I go to cross those off the list.

We finished the navigation chapter in Your Boat Too.  We learned all kind of neat things about sounding your horn in the fog.

-20.2 @ 251.0

12/9

We've been doing some planning and boat research in spare moments.

As you know, I'm pretty well certain that Americans (among others) have lost their way, however we've decided that we really wanted to stick to happy thoughts on Windward Reach, so I've started another blog as an outlet for crying in the wilderness.  When I complete the raison d'être essay for that one I'll post a link.  I know you're all waiting on tenterhooks.

The darn scale kept producing different reading today so who knows?  I'm definitely up a bit though.

house todos

We compiled this list of all that remains to get the house set for sale in spring. It actually could be a lot worse (and was, before we had all the help from Len).

• upstairs bath
• shower 
• enclosure walls
• fixtures $
• door $
• replace gold towel ring *
• floors
• kitchen $
• bathrooms
• laundry
• kitchen 
• overhead light fixture *
• finish oiling cabinets *
• finish installing pulls and catches *
• repair drawers $
• install new thermostats
• repair old water damage around all the sliders $
• finish window casings (x4) $
• scrape
• sand
• harden
• fill gaps
• prime
• paint
• fix living room vent thing
• repair broken outer pane downstairs $
• paint dining room, hallway, kitchen
• mud room
• finish new front door
• paint
• latch
• trim
• interior
• exterior
• add 
• coats hooks *
• shelves for hats, gloves, shoes *
• bench *
• remove
• monstrosity from mud room *
• chintzy shoe racks from mudroom *
• shelving things upstairs
• bins of kiddy clothes from garage *
• boxes of other junk from garage *
• clean up
• shelving upstairs
• all closets
• put nice caps on railing posts on upstairs balcony *
• get carpets professionally cleaned *
• repair laundry room doors $
• make all the fixtures in the downstairs bathroom match
• fix all the other peeling paint on exterior trim (mainly on gable ends of roof) $
• scrape
• sand
• prime
• paint
• splash guard *
• heater corner guards *
• Fix door jam where baby gate was 
• Finish removing baby gates *
• Install no slip on stairs *
• Install the last two lights in the garage *
• Install kitchen light*
• fix closet bar *

• paint garage door casing *
• clean garage door *
• clean up garage *
• take garage, kitchen photos *
• move stuff out *
• office shelves
• girls stuff
• baker's rack
• clean out *
• kitchen cabinets
• pantry
• laundry room
• clean up scrap wood pile *
• replace medicine cabinet *

-20 @ 251.2

Kelly Peterson 44

I made took some  notes on KP44s today.  These notes are abridged mainly from bluewaterboats.org and kp44.org.  

A long distance center-cockpit cruiser by design, she has earned a reputation for speedy passages. 180 miles days are not uncommon, with useful performance coming in all wind conditions and points of sail. Many have circumnavigated.

Fin keel cutaway at the forefoot and aft which reduces her wetted surface, good for both light-air performance and a nimble turning radius. The keel has a relatively long run which helps the boat to track well.

One third of her light to moderate displacement of 30,000 pounds is encapsulated in her ballast slung low on her 6′ 4″ keel. This combined with her clean bow entry helps her produce a nice soft motion.

Low-profile cabin trunk which is both sleek and practical in that it aids a lower center of gravity. Cockpit seating for 8 at a squeeze under anchor.

Beefy twin spreader cutter rig carrying more than 1000 square feet of canvas. Very manageable for a short-handed crew.

The interior is bright and well ventilated from the three large hatches and twelve portlights.

Well-equipped U-shaped galley sited to port and has large capacity refrigeration and a gimbaled stove. The double stainless steel sink is close to the centerline and works well on any tack.

Access to the bilge and engine is excellent.

Heavily constructed in hand-laid fiberglass matt and roving with polyester resin. Thicknesses range from nearly one inch at the bilges, tapering to 3/4 inches at the waterline and a half inch at the deck. The integral keel encapsulates 10,000 pounds of iron ballast packed with concrete. The rudder consists of a stainless-steel frame, packed with plywood and sheathed in fiberglass. Some of these have been replaced over time after leaks developed and corroded the stainless steel.

The deck-to-hull joint is a lip-tongue arrangement with a wood brace inserted between the joint in some areas, then fiberglassed over. A teak cap rail was screwed into the wood brace. This area can be prone to leaks, especially where long bolts holding the genoa track to the top of the bulwark protrude through into the cabin. The plywood-cored decks were finished in non-skid gelcoat as standard but some were optionally fitted with teak decking.

The Formosa boats and those from other yards can have quite different construction details from the Kelly yachts.

Well known to make fast passages. The theoretical hull speed is 8.3 knots and owners report this is possible on all points of sail given the right conditions. 180 mile days are very attainable.

She is well balanced and despite long rudder control lines reaching from her centre cockpit, the feedback at the helm is surprisingly good. The boat is relatively easy to single hand, even in a blow. And importantly, her motion at sea is comfortable.

Specifications

• LOA: 43′ 10″
• LWL: 38′ 8″
• Beam: 12’11″
• Draft 6′ 4″
• Bridge Clearance: 60′
• Displacement: 30,000 lbs.
• Ballast: 10,000 lbs. (iron encapsulated)
• Sail Area: 1,011 sq.ft.
• Fuel: 117 US Gal.
• Water: 132 US Gal.
• Engine: 62-hp Perkins 4-152 Diesel
• Designer: Doug Peterson
• Builder: Yu Ching Marine, Taiwan
• Year Introduced: 1976
• Year Ended: 1983
• Numbers Built: 200+

Also Known As: Peterson 44

Similar Boats

• Kelly Peterson 46
• Formosa 46
• Spindrift 46
• Hylas 44
• Cape North 43
• Lafitte 44
• Mason 44

Owners: 

• s/v Loose Pointer
• s/v Beatrix

Video tour of a KP 44

Listings

• 1977 $114k
• 1981, Rio Dulce, Guatemala $115k
• 1975, Ft Lauderdale $115k
• 1977, Malaysia $65k
• 1979, Napa $80k
• 1975, Oregon $99k
• 1975, East Coast, USA $95k
• 1977, Annapolis $79k

-20 @ 251.2

12/6

Audrey and I watched Shipwrecked this evening.  Exciting stuff!  It's about a Norwegian boy whose father is injured and in order to earn the money to head off a foreclosure on the family farm he ships out to sea.  We also did a little TYCTR, but she was pretty tired and silly so we didn't do too much.

I cleaned up the To-do page.  It was pretty chaotic before, I thought.  Not that there's any less to do now, but I'm keeping it at a higher level on that page now.

I've also spent some time on boat research this evening.

-19.1 @ 252.1

12/4

Audrey and I are on Lesson 26 of TYCTR.  She's doing great.  One thing that's kind of annoying is the way they clutter up the spaces between words in the stories.  She and I both find it pretty confusing.

April and I had a great brainstorming session this evening on our next steps.

Time for a chapter of Your Boat Too...

-17.9 @ 253.3

12/3

Man, it's kinda bumming me out to report yet again, no particular progress today.  I've gotta get back in the groove.

-17.1 @ 254.1

12/2/2012

We're getting back to Your Boat Too tonight.  Tonight's chapter is on inland navigation rules.  Woohoo!

Oh another small tidbit:  Mr. Bumfuzzle is publishing a book on expat trading called Life on the Margin or something like that.  I gotta read it.

Audrey and I have also gotten back to word games.  Today we did lessons 24 and 25.

-20.1 @ 251.1

12/1/2012

We saw Len off today, and I really didn't do much else.  I got to hang out with Audrey and Lorelei a lot  which was really nice.  My big plan for tomorrow is to plan steps for the next couple weeks.

I did have a nice surprise from the scale this morning.

-19.8 @ 251.4

11/30

I did some research on unschooling and Waldorf this evening.  Len actually poured some cement in the mud room.

-16.2 @ 255.0

11/29

I did some research on homeschooling methods today. I'm interested in the Trivium and and Quadrivium and in the Thomas Jefferson Education.

Len replaced the sad old fixture which went with the sad old door. The new one looks great.

There was a CIA drone strike in South Waziristan today. Four people were injured and as many as four were killed.

-16.3 @ 254.9

11/28

Len got that new door fully mounted and installed.  There's still finish work to be done with molding and paint and stuff but it's looking very nice.

I've lost 19 pounds since starting this project.  It's slow but steady progress.  Since my all-time high of over 284 pounds, I'm down over 31 pounds.  Things will work out a lot better aboard if I can move quickly and easily about the boat.  Plus it'll be great if I can  avoid a mid-ocean heart attack.   So I'll continue to push.  I'll be happy if I can make 225, thrilled with 200, and super-duper thrilled with 175.

-18.7 @ 252.5

Grampsy Time

The house is really coming along! After the crazy cleaning spree, my dad has been furiously fixing things too. We have new lighting fixtures, a new front door, a new bedroom door, a new towel bar, patched bathroom wall, new door knobs....and I know there is more, I just can't remember it all. He even extended his stay to help finish all the things he had started. I feel really lucky to have him. It has also been so nice for the girls. They are loving having all the Grampsy time. 

It hasn't been all work, we went to see a play, and spent a few days in Breckenridge. Breckenridge has been a Thanksgiving tradition for my dad and I for the past 32 years. We started going to Beaver Run when I was 4. We have so many great memories there. It was really great bringing the girls back, and it was nice not cooking all day! 

Thanksgiving dinner

yum, cheese (our favorite fondue restaurant in Breckenridge)

One thing that I love about the hotel is the great pool. It is half indoors and half outdoor, and the girls loved it. They are both getting so brave in the water. Lorelei might be a little too brave. She will stand on the edge and just jump. A time or two, no one was ready and she started to sink for a split second before we grabbed her. She came up sputtering, but ready to do it again. In swimming class we have been working on her kicking and pulling after she jumps so she doesn't sink. She is really good at both, just not consecutively....yet. Audrey on the other hand is doing both brilliantly, and has gotten over her fear of taking the plunge without someone right there to catch her, as long as it is in under 4 feet of water.  

New Door

Progress on the new door:

11/26

Len ripped the old front door and frame out today to make way for the new one.  I observed.

I'm sick, so let's hope for some better posts soon.

-17.7

11/25

Len got us a new exterior door to replace the old one on our mud room, so we worked on prepping and painting it today.

One thing I forgot to mention that I did the other day was to apply some Pledge orange oil to some of the kitchen cabinets.  It actually makes a big difference to that parched wood.

11/24

I started working on revising the todo list and the pages on the blog in general.  For some reason it's slow going.

We also did some more confidence building in the pool.

11/23

The great thing about writing more often is that I have less to report each time.  We've been hanging out in Breck the last couple days, so I've only been able to snatch brief moments to push on the goal.  I studied forex a little today and also did some boat research. Come to think of it though, our several hours at the pool with the girls today definitely counts as progress too.  They're both getting to be really brave in the water.  Lorelei is actually a little too brave.  She'll just jump into water over her head whether you're there to help her or not.  Kinda freaks me out.

11/22

Here are some pictures we took the day of the showing.  Our house had never been so clean.  We'll probably use these for our real posting in the spring.  

Len installed a new bedroom door for us the other day, and repaired some water damage to the sheet rock next to the tub.  He and I also installed the long-absent towel bar in the second bathroom. 

I'm going to be after myself to get back to posting daily, so we all have that to look forward to.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.  I find myself experiencing mixed feelings today.  While I am so deeply grateful for my wonderful family and friends, I can't help thinking of those whose families and friends have been destroyed  and will be destroyed in the years ahead by American imperial adventurism.  As we know, "war is the health of state."

What horrific and countless tragedies each of us has lent our material support to through taxes on our productive labors, day in and day out.  It must give pause to anyone who dares to give it a moment's thought on days like these when we are expected to merely gloat over our own good fortunes.  What an ethical quandary it is:  Can we be held responsible for evil perpetrated using resources of which we were forcibly dispossessed?  One might think not.  Yet, knowing the intentions of those who have taken from us for evil purposes in the past, can we be excused for continuing to produce the fodder we know will be taken from us for evil in the future?  One might also think not.