Ava's new job a Photo Journalist for American Doll Rooms

Ava will begin a photo journal today for the American Doll Co, she entered a contest on her own and won. Her first photo shoot will begin after school with a doll and the room on the deck of Adventuress. She picked the outfit for her doll Samantha, which was done as she was dressing for school also. I have explained to her the importance of this responsibility and where it could take her, she is overly excited and should be. Her girlfriend at the Marina next to us is also into American Dolls, between the two of them we should get some great water photos. I am plugging away at the Boating Safety course that is mandatory now in Maryland and Va. I have successfully finished and passed 4 units out of 7. . 2 1/2 hrs for each unit with a test at the end of each unit. . . The exam is at the end of course, I will set aside my day on Friday to take this with a bottle of wine waiting when I pass. Not only should I have this(Papa is taking this through his Captains course. . his big exam is April 28th) should something happen and I am responsible to get the boat back in safely but you get a discount on boat ins. I thought it was going to be easy but I am finding out that is not so. We will be moving back onto the boat in just a few weeks and everything is shaping up nicely, can't wait. . .Spring is 12 days away, Thank You Mother Nature for this beautiful Day

simpleliving-3: Ready for a New Sailing Season

simpleliving-3: Ready for a New Sailing Season: After spending 3 weeks scrubbing mildew,polishing teak and redecorating the entire main cabin of our sailboat I am finished. When we bought ...

Ready for a New Sailing Season

After spending 3 weeks scrubbing mildew,polishing teak and redecorating the entire main cabin of our sailboat I am finished. When we bought Adventuress I thought she was the most beautiful boat I had ever seen, the decorating was fantastic,(so I thought)the color choices we just what I would have picked. After living on her for 10 months I found out I could not live with many of the choices the previous owner had chosen. The decor was 28 yrs old and needed a new face. . .I checked many home & boat decorating sights but ran into many problems, home sights are geared for just that a home with different dimensions, most boating sights are for Yachts and Power boats. I did not want to change the image of a sailboat even though it is our home bottom line is it's a boat! I added grain sack curtains in a light and dark sand tone, throw rugs are brown with shells and a light sand/ brown mixture. The side by side quarter cabins are also neutral and will be kept that way to look more spacious. Thanks to the Boat Galley I was able to update the galley area which should make cooking and clean up an easier chore. Our children gave us a fantastic boat grill for Christmas which we are excited to try out this Summer. I still find it hard to believe we moved on to a sailboat with a child with what little knowledge we had for such a life.The positive side to all of this is we got to know our boat/home by trial and error and would do the same thing all over again.It's not for everyone and I find this out each time someone new comes aboard and says," I could never live on here, it's beautiful but I could not do it". My reply is: "When it's not your Dream you can't picture this life" I named this Blog Simpleliving-3 mainly because it is just that. . .3 people learning together the simple life of boat living. 3 new batteries will be installed next week along with other things that I won't even pretend I know, but are needed to enjoy a season of sailing. The next process will be pulling the boat this Sumer for 2 weeks to clean and paint the bottom, then strip the teak around the deck and make her look just as beautiful out side. Next year will be new ports, hatches and flooring in the main cabin. . much like a home there is always something new to upgrade. Adventuress will be our home for many years to come with many changes along the way. . .One thing I do know for sure is we are Living our Dream not just Dreaming it, no matter where we sail or don't. . .we own a sailboat after 36 years of ups and downs. . . My next learning step is posting pictures . . .