a long time

Amazing how many years have gone by. So many changes have been going in. I thought I'd try to update life a bit. Signed grandpa Dave

Winter, love it and hate it

Sailing is going to take a while to get going this year. Snow yet again tomorrow? Ugh. I have to admit I enjoy the season, but winter fatigue has set in. So Nancy and I are going to start a garden this year. We have started the planning for what and wear. It turns out there is too much information on upper midwest gardening.....but lots of good ideas to sort out. AS far as work it is hard to believe we are coming up to 20 years, so much has changed, so many new people working there, but the mission is remarkably the same.

March madness

It send like people are getting worn down by winter. I'm ready for spring but it is early march yet. Blue boat is ready to have the dust blown of of her. I'm pretty much ready to hit the water.
Life is good otherwise.

Cabin fever

I seem to hear it everyday. "This is the worst winter ever". I have to chuckle a bit as there has been a bunch of snow,but the temps have been pretty nice. I guess I consider this a normal winter.
Visiting Mom this weekend and getting things done on the Sonnydo list. Will have plenty to do to get Blue Boat ready for the season.

Last summer there was not much sailing at all, I'm hoping to make it a bit better this year. The new main is ready to try out. I'm still not sure how to assess the fact the Vivace is 60 lbs over weight. She is not going to like the diet, but it will ned to be done.

Moving closer to the lake should help a lot. It is only a twenty minute drive so hopefully that will make things easier also.

It's amazing that time has flown by since I've posted. The summer has been great, and busy. I got married, and just returned from a fantastic vacation to Gun Lake, MI, and Cedar Point Park on Lake Erie. Amazing time. There has not been a lot of sailing this year. Waiting on a new main, but the blue boat is set to go. I think I'm going to take some time to just sail, the updates have been fun, but it takes a lot of time. This has been the hottest summer I can remember in many years. Kinda funny to listen to the warming folks gettin hot under the collar. It's like the summers I remember as a kid. Hopefully the patterns of the 1930's don't repeat. Well, time to finish putting up a garden shed. TTYL.

Fall again?

I guess the fact that I've not blogged in over a year, means that Facebook took up alot of my time. It was a great year for sailing, taking 4th for the upper MidWest buccaneer series.

Yesterday I picked up a very tough looking 76 Bucc as a winter project.....we shall see how that goes. Life on a 1-10 bout an 8.5

Summer Poof

It is hard to believe that summer has come and gone.

It was quite a year. This Spring we delt with the floods in Iowa, Mom was lucky to only have minor damage.

Summer sailing was fantastic. We had the butterfly Nationals on Lake DuBay in June. A good turn out, and lots of fun. It was interesting to learn the boat. Jim Young held a sailing clinic that Michael and I attended. http://www.jimyoungsailing.com/
Jim is a great coach, and I learned alot about racing, and working the upwind legs. Ed M from Kenosha, one of our bucc sailors, took 2nd in the Butterfly Nationals. http://www.butterflyer.org/images/08shnResults.jpg I didn't do so well, but had a lot of fun, as it was very windy with no rain for the event.

Fond du Lac's Lighthouse Regatta ended p being a bit of a wash with Crazy winds on Saturday, and a drifter on Sunday. Although there was not a lot of sailing, we had a blast. The people involved in these groups are wonderful. I enjoy that you have people from every walk of life that share a common passion. http://home.centurytel.net/elmo/lighthouse/lighthouse.htm

Probably the high point of the summer was the 2008 Gov Cup on Lake Dubay. We had 9 Buccaneer's show up, and a total of 16 boats compete in the event. This is the 2nd year that the buccaneers had a fleet for the regatta. Weather was good, with a very windy Saturday. http://www.saildubay.org/

Last big sailing event was a hull cleaner. Val and I competed in the Leukemia Cup Regatta on White Bear Lake in Minnesota. Our boat raised over $3,200 with a total event rasing of $100,000+ for Blood Cancer research and care. Saturday ended up being a dark and damp drifter. Sunday was cold and windy which finished up with lots of rain. We were the only buccaneer competing in the Portsmith Class, taking 4th. It was very coll to see the big A-scows out on the course with us. Great group of sailors, who made the event fun.

Well now J.A.M. is packed up for the winter. There was one more event this month in Waukegan on October 11th, and unfortunately I'm working and can't make it down.

I'm hoping that we can get a fleet put together for the 2009 season.

Winter Blahs

Well this is the last shot from the sailing season. I remember being tired of it after a few mechanical failures. I'm so ready to saill again.

Working this weekend with temps in the -20s w/o windchill was just too much. I'm really starting to wonder if the Global Warming folks are full of s**t, cause this seems like a good old fasioned winter.

Michael and I shoveled the lastest batch of snow. The mound along the side of the driveway is as tall as I am. Michael took the wheels off an old skateboard, and has been dooing his own version of snowboarding. It looks like fun, but there have been a couple of interesting splats on the frozen blacktop.

The Lake DuBay group is getting geared up for the butterfly nationals which we shall host in June. It's pretty exciting to host this event especially on our lake. Jun is a great time for racing, so hopefully it will be a great event. We are starting to get some younger members. Sailing is kinda a tough sport to get into. It seem folks don't want to take the time to learn. Our new members are great, and willing to learn. Michael really got into the butterfly this summer, and is looking forward to trying some club racing.

Val, who bought the thulin's FJ is going to buy a sail sewing machine. She might be willing to sew a spinnaker for JAM. It will add a new dimension to the boat, but I'm really looking forward to it.

Other than working a lot, not much else is new. Take Care.

Mowing in the Snow

Summer just went too fast. Since August life has been pretty busy. It was a great year of sailing. I think the highlight was having a fleet of Buccaneers for the Governor's Cup. Michael and I finally got the Butterfly in the water, and he had a great time. After a bit he really got into sailing the boat. Racing next year should be a good tuning tool for him.

Fall was busy with home projects and work. Kinda a same old same old type of thing. Although there has been a growing stress under the surface, especially at work. I suppose we are at the 6 month point for phase II of PTSD to set in.

Today I realized I had gone nuts. I finished up the leaves in the yard, and the Lawn Service came to the door wondering when the leaves will be done as they have 2 more treatments scheduled. I thought how funny. It's the middle of November, X-Mas commercials are ll over the TV, and they want to do 2 more yard treatments. Hmmm. Seems like since everything has been frozen 3 times that it might be best to do them in the Spring.

Anyway, (Blogging is nice, as ya don't have to follow the English teacher's rules.) So the leaves were packed in the truck for a ride to the compost heap, and I got the mower out for one last shave. As I started mowing, it starting snowing. How crazy was that, I was going to quit, and the longer I mowed the harder it snowed. Kinda stupid I know, but it's kinda how life has been going.

Take Care until next time.

July 17, 2007

Amazing how gast summer starts to fly once you get going. The babies grew up and moved out in a couple of days, and i was able to get my garage door opener back.

This has been a great year for sailing. We have not been able to do many races for either too much wind, or not enough. Saturday the 14th we had quite the blow. Called off the races with gusts reaching 30 mph. Combine crews, and ended up sending out 4 boats. It was a complete rush. We didn't dump J.A.M., but got close a couple of times. Centerboard trunk started to pull away a bit, so that will be a quick repair.

We gots babies

We gots babies. This Spring a morning dove had decided to nest on top of my garage door opener motor. I had tried to help her understand while she was building, that this was a bad idea. It's an older opener and the chain and main gear are also on top. Push the garage door button, and you have a pi**ed off morning dove and scrambled eggs.

Well the eggs have hatched, aand are doing the looking cute and stupid nest thing right now. Momma is a bit protective which is fine. She had come and tapped on the basement window yeaterday, which was kinda weird. Momma was named Babe, as we would always say..."It's OK Babes" when entering the garage. I don't know if these birds have more than one litter,....what do you call bird litters?, a year, but when the babies fly, the nest is gone.

It is finally sunny here, and lloks to be a great day!
Dave

Flounder

Well screw the nap, somewhere came the motivation to get the top 10 things done on my to do list. The garbage man is gonna hate me tommorow.

Got J.A.M. out on the water this afternoon. Faired the rudder blade, and it left hardly a ripple. Found a tear in the top batten that will need to be fixed B4 the weekend. Michael did a great job at crew, and we made a few good tacks B4 the wind died. Took about 45 minutes to come back in.

It was fun, and much needed.

Here is a shot of the dream boat. Some day.........

Week off

It has been way too busy at work, or at least it seems so. Our competition is starting a flight program in the area starting tomorrow. It's interesting to hear how some people think it's the end of it for us, and others don't think it means a thing. Time will tell.

I think the boat is about as ready as she can be. It was a ton of work, but everything came together nicely. Plan on a shake down cruise this afternoon if the weather holds. It will just be nice to get out on the water again. A couple sailing events this weekend, and then back to the grind.

I installed a brick sidewalk in front of the house this week. It was a ton of work, but looked great when it was done. There is just something good about taking something and working it until it is right. Being outside, and making it all come together was a blast. There is something to be said for good old fashioned manual labor..........in moderation.

Kind of in a boring mood today, have a bunch of little projects, but am really thinking about a nap. House needs to be cleaned, but I'm in a serious A.D.D. mood, and would probably end up where I started this afternoon with little done...

Nap, that's the ticket......I need a life!
Dave

Apple Pie

Apple Pie got a bad wrap in American Pie. Tonight, I baked the one that was sitting in the freezer all Fall. According to the label, it was going to blow up, or turn to dust, or possibly evolve into some other type of freezer beast. So tonight it was baked. My son and I made baked Cod with a lot of the trimmings.

This eveing about 9:30, I warmed up a chunk, and mixed it with vanilla ice cream. That really has got to be one of the top 10 tastes in life. There is just nothing better. I mowed through the bowl, Rex the dog helped clean the bowls, he is still napping. It was just a good way to cap a kinda crummy week.

Well I think the boat is ready to go out to the lake. Jib cars are in, new boom came, and is rigged, centerboard, is back in and secure, lines are clean and dry, hull is as shiney as 30 year gel coat can get, sub deck is re-enforced, which should hopefully hold, stay bases rebuilt. Damn, it has been a busy couple of weeks.

I'm just looking forward to getting on the water....I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything holds together. I wish I had a heated barn...it would be nice to be able to work on the old girl in the winter, it would save this Spring rush.

Well almost a month without a smoke. Sure makes apple pie, and ice cream taste better!!!

Good night

Better

It has been a weird week. I guess after being numb the first week, the emotions just flowed this week. I found myself repeating things at home. I couldn't find the hamper of dirty laundry...it was already in the wash, .....washed the bottom of the boat twice....that kind of stuff. I would get pissed easily at Michael, the cat whoever.

Friday it dawned on me. Marc killed his kids, he removed himself from the list of people I call a friend. The end. Accepting that has helped quite a bit. It may seem simple, and curt, but usually the best fixes are.

Somehow through all of this I've remained smoked free. Coming up on a month already, and I can't believe it. I do really feel better, and when I have an urge to smoke it passes quickly. I will still be a recovering smoker until I make it a year, but there is finally hope.

I got quite a bit done on the boat this week, she is back on the rebuilt trailor, and the belly work is done. The BONG noises are caused by a chunk of old insulation that broke free in the bow. How to fix is the question.

Well Spring is finally HERE!!!!!! Working today, nice to not have to think about which coat to bring.

Life is good,
Dave

Death of a Flight Nurse

I'm still completely numb. Sunday night I went to bed early to finally get caught up on sleep. One of the managers called at 10:30 PM and said there was a stand off at Marc's house. Marc has been with our flight program for many years, and I think a nurse since who knows when. He was a great guy. He came from the ICU, was occasionally responsible for driving some of the medics mad with his ICU detail. He was one of those nurses that was both great to work with, and a bit of a nag. His nickname, lovingly given to him by Sarah, was Squishim. (His last name was Tishim) Through the years we went through his first divorce after being married for 20 plus years. They never had any kids. He then married a nurse from the unit who was quite a bit younger than him, and they started a family. We were glad to see this for 2 reasons:
1st Marc really was great with kids. On PICU runs he could make the goofy faces that would make kids smile. (Compared to my goofy faces which usually made kids cry, and other nurses nauseated.)
2nd reason we were glad Marc had kids was pay-back. Marc always made fun of us parents for being over tired, stressed, you know the fun of little kids......Well then Marc had kids of his own, and started saying the same things we did, about being up all night, clinic appointments etc.......
In the last couple years, their marriage went South. The divorce became bitter. We were on Marc's side, but let's be honest, it's hard to know with a divorce as to who is trying to screw who. We knew that the stress was taking a toll on Marc, he was talking about quitting, or retiring, and was working with HR. He would come in, and bring the kids, they would draw on the dry erase boards, help us around the ambulances. They were such great kids.

0150 hours, Call from dispatch, The SWAT team stormed Marc's house. They stated 3 dead right away. Marc killed his kids ages 4 and 8, and then took his own life.

What can I say? This is the third suicide in our department in 3 years. I know in my heart, that people were talking to Marc, trying to make sure he was OK. He knew what to say and what not to say. I really do believe that everyone thought he was going to be OK. The divorce was to be final this week. He could finally move forward in life. God he really had us convinced it was going to be OK.

The kids.....Marc, how in the hell could you do that? How can you take the lives of your kids? You Bastard, you used to run around preaching people's free-will, and then you take away their chances to choose the kind of life they would have. I'm so angry about this. I can't envision any of this.

So, here we sit, empty and hurt, numb, and confused. What could have been going through his mind. A community divided. This is just too much. There has been much local media coverage especially with the Virginia Tech thing. Some of the media have focused on our flight serive, because Marc had been involved in public relations shoots, so his image was on file.

Forgiveness will be tough on this one.

A side note, The Chantix was worked wonderfully, though the temptation is there to smoke, I'm now officially over 2 weeks smoke free.

bye bye snow

Well I am so hoping that we are done with the snow for the year. We got pounded at work yesterday. Kinda funny how I could come up with about 12,000 new triggers for smoking, Seems as though my worst is right after I get done with a call. Seems that there is a natural expextation that I'll get to smoke. We went through about every scenario that one could for stress, from terrible wnter driving to a couple of cirle jerks waiting for decisions to be made. Oh well, I made it though, and remain smokefree.

Hugh from Nickels boat works called today and I got the jib tracks ordered. Harry from Cardinal Yahts was kind enough to put together a boom for me. So other than a good hull cleaning, and stay checking we should be good to go for sailing this year.

The snow would have been nicer had I not been working. It cleared out nicely, and by afternoon the warm peeks of sun let you know this wasn't going to last too long. This has been a tough week, almost funny how stress is tripled, and people let you down while you are trying to quit smoking.

Of course quitting smoking is a selfish thing when you really think about it. It's like walking into work on a busy day, and annoucing it's my birthday. Most are polite and say Happy birthday, but they think..."good for you, now get to work...." Quitting smoking is the same. You walk around fighting this horrible mental battle, and announce to people to give you special treatment. People are nice, but I wonder if their only thought is "good for you, you don't stink...now get to work..."

It is also selfish because you are the one who put yourself into this mess. For whatever reason one starts smoking, I guess that 99 % new it was wrong and dangerous before they took their first puff. So I guess it's kinda like sitting in your own pile of dung, and realizing you are the only one who is going to clean yourself up.

OK enough deep, out there thoughts. Today is a 3/10 on the smoking, and a 6 / 10 on the worn out disappointed scale.

Have a great weekend, Dave

Tuesday sailing and Snow

Well today is going a bit better as far as the no smoking goes. I went into work for a couple of hours yesterday, and found about a thousand new triggers for smoking. Yes!!! a new challange. Crap.....Oh well, I just plan on taking frequesnt walks. I'm supposed to be on Air, but it sounds like it is going to snow all day.

I thought it funny that the day I bring the boat home, they announce a Winter Storm Watch...what is up with that? Oh well, what can ya do. I figure that I'll just refuse to shovel it.

Maria called, and I went out to get the boat. It's really wet by the barn, and with the cold temps the ground froze enough to get the boat up the hill. One of her neighbors picked up his boat when it was warm, and totally tore up her side yard. She is not too happy of a camper.

The boat looks good, and I'm looking forward to having a couple of warm days to get her ready for the year.

One of the people from the club is starting a new sailboat business. I hope it takes off. Sailing is a nice change from the powered world. Hopefully as gas prices continue to rise we will see more people trade in the big motors for a sailboat. It's a great family activity. Don't get me wrong, I love the V-8 powerboats as much as anyone, but returning to sailing has been a great experience for me.

So today is about a 3 out of 10 on the no smoking, panic,chew on my shoes, scale. Talk to ya soon, Dave

Mornings

I think the biggest change in routine for me is when I first get up. I wasn't one of these people that had to have a smoke right away, but i had a routine of getting up 45 minutes early, make a cup of coffee, and then have a smoke or 2. Then I'd just either watch the news, or go for a walk to get the day started.

Now....hmmm the routine doesn't work. So I've decided to sleep in a bit, wake up in time for coffee if I want, and go from there. The cold snap we are having isn't really helping the go out and walk thing.....Spring will be here soon.....now explain this Global Warming thing to me again?

Coffee really has no draw at all. The only time I want a cigarette is out of habit. I really have no other desire for it. Going this long without a smoke does feel really good.

I know that bars and Supper Clubs are going to be out for a long time.

I'm going to try and get the boat this afternoon. I can't really do any of the belly work until it warms up, but maybe I can put bigger wheels on the trailer, and get the lighting straightened out.

Bills, and school work today.

See ya,
Dave

Ex smoker? me?

What a pain, I started taking Chantix 2 weeks ago to help with quitting smoking. I really sounds like a good deal, as they tell you to smoke as much as you want the first week.

Then the next week. OK so I smoked 4 the first couple days, and have not smoked any for 4 days at all. It's interesting how many times you just want to jump up and go get a smoke. It's very instictive almost.

A couple of interesting side notes. One of my co-worker's, Jim, noticed that there is a decreased need for caffine. I hadn't really noticed it until he mentioned it. Coffee was my other addiction which went perfectly with a smoke or 5. Now I hardly want a cup, and there has been no caffine headache at all.

Chantix is like nothing I have tried before. a bit a nausea at first, but really no other side effect. It like takes out the physical cravings for about everything, and leaves you be to work stuff out with your head.

So for now it's going well. I feel good about coming this far, amd hope I can stick with it.

Snow again today, the one week in March where it got into the 70s was just a tease. I talked to Maria and I'm going to try and pick up the boat next week. She said ther was quite a bit of mud down by the barn, so I try and get it out while the ground is still kinda frozen. I am so looking forward to getting out on the water again.