MY FAMILY

Nor need we power or splendor, wide hall or lordly dome; the good, the true, the tender - these form the wealth of a home. Sarah J. Hale


Dakota Kate LOVES to perch! Here she is on the patio table, surveying the world. And....she always crosses her paws, right over left!



Then there is Jack - handsome, kind, patient, loving, good,true and tender Jack!

WANDA!

Some equipment on sailing vessels just calls out for a name. This is one of those times. Wanda, the Little Wonder watermaker is installed! We love her already!

TA-DA!!!

The cruising larder is filling up. Except for a corned beef (waiting for a St.Patrick's day sale!) I have finished pressure canning. You are looking at hamburger, beef brisket, chicken, pork loin and Italian sausage! The carnivore in this house is VERY glad he married a girl who knew how to pressure can meat! It makes his life so much better!!

SCAAAAAARY!!!

Jack is cutting holes in my boat to install the The Little Wonder - our new water maker!!! Makes me nervous.......but, it will allow us to venture further down island in the Exumas to explore areas where water is not available. If you would like to read about this particular RO machine check out www.villagemarine.com. We picked it because it came in 3 components for ease of installation in small spaces - like on a sailboat! We are planning to depart on the third annual Exuma cruise April 1, weather permitting. After this installation we will haul the boat to paint the bottom and the hull. Then it is time to start provisioning........we expect to be gone 3 months.

SAILBOAT TOYS!

Jack and I spent a delightful day Friday attending the annual Miami International Boat Show. Fortunately we had complimentary tickets because it was $15 to park and $25 for 2 sandwiches and 2 soft drinks! Huge catamarans are the wave of the future it seems. There were many of them on display, most made in South Africa. We both wonder what it would be like to sail them and more importantly how to DOCK them since the helm is almost always on the side not midships like on the boats we have sailed. The Miami Convention Center was stuffed full of power boats (the sailboats were in the water at Bayside) and every boat toy imaginable from water skis to forward facing propellers, from life boats to docks and lifts, from galley ware to generators large enough to run a ship! We love our boat and are happy with it's accommodations but there are always a few new toys on the wish list. First on the list this year was a water maker (you know, reverse osmosis). We found the perfect one - THE LITTLE WONDER, from Village Marine Tec. We will continue to conserve water as we always have but are looking forward to a little longer shower and not having to do the dreaded dock stop to fill the water tank! That's good thing!

GIRL'S WEEKEND IN MIAMI!

The girls met in Miami for the weekend to watch Brittany play softball. (She pitches for Jacksonville University). Poor Alina had to stay home and nurse her badly sprained ankle! We had a special visitor - Tia Carolina was on her way to Cuba via Miami from San Antonio on a humanitarian mission so we got to spend time with her! And we celebrated Brittany's 21st birthday and Holly's ? birthday! We watched ball, went to the mall, ate Cuban food and rum cake and yakked and yakked and laughed and laughed! . SO much fun. We missed you Tia Alina!

OUR AMAZING ANIMAL FRIENDS!

This morning, while walking Dakota, we had the most amazing experience. We have a neighborhood retriever who just had 9 puppies a little over 2 weeks ago. Her name is Kaiyou. In the past when Dakota and Kaiyou enountered each other they romped around in cirlces and played. Today, their first encounter since the birth of the puppies, the meeting was very different. Kaiyou stood tall and proud while Dakota sniffed her. Then - Dakota simply laid down at Kaiyou's feet. A new found respect - a reverence for Motherhood, perhaps?

ENOUGH ALREADY!

I am quoting from The Miami Herald: "What is it, we wonder, about powerful figures and tax compliance? Is it too much to ask public figures to make sure that their taxes are in order? There should be a simple rule: Having a 'tax problem' is a bar to holding high appointed office in the federal government. If Joe Sixpack has to comply with every provision of the tax code, those who claim competence to govern the rest of us should be able to do the same or forfeit the privilege of holding public office."

Come on, President Obama, enough already!