Almost Ready!

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and great 2014 so far! We're shrinking our to-do list, and are pretty much down to the stuff we just have to buy; another solar panel (flexible & fits on the bimini), de-salinizer, small generator, and new sails (on order)! Daren's always working on boat projects when he's home. He pulled the wheel out of the cockpit and put in a lovely new tiller, which gives us a lot more room. He moved the 6 shrouds (cables that stabilize the mast on the sides) to the outside of the boat from the middle of the deck, which gives us more room to walk around. He installed new stainless steel davits he had made in CA. We still haven't hauled the boat to paint it yet, but are thinking of March, just before we finally leave Marathon! I know! You'll believe it when you see it! Daren's still very happy at MVE, so he's having a hard time leaving them. As much as Libby and I miss him when he's gone for 2 weeks, there are a couple of advantages. I can read late at night, or rearrange things, which makes a big mess! I just got rid of a bunch of dishes so we'll have more room for food! There are lots of boats in the harbor right now, most waiting for good weather to go to the Bahamas. It's been pretty cold here for about a week, but today we're back to the 70's, and a few boats left today! My younger sister Mary's coming down for a visit Feb.8-10. She'll be in Ft. Lauderdale after a Caribbean cruise, so we're very excited about seeing her before she heads back to Denver.