In All Different Directions!

As usual, our family is going 90 mph in all different directions these days.  Here's what we've been up to for the last 3 weeks...

Alyssa 

Alyssa has added more days to her work schedule at Milk + Honey. She's really enjoying her weekly Apprentice program - learning a lot and making a good impression.  This week, she has models coming in to get various styles, so she can be "checked off." When she completes all of this - probably in 3-4 months -  she anticipates being "given a chair" at the salon. Very exciting!!
We all had a lot of fun fishing and sailing at the end of last month at Lake Texoma - see more at A Long Line of Lake Lovers. And, then, a couple of weeks later, Alyssa had a wonderful trip to the beach with Josh's family. She LOVES the beach, so 4 days at a lovely condo in Corpus Christi was perfect! They caught quite a few fish, saw a few dolphins and maybe even a shark. It sounds like September, when the crowds have died down, is THE time to do a beach trip!
Alyssa's "Wedding Update" is that she found The Dress. Next stop...Invitations.
On a side note... Alyssa's fiancé, Josh, turned 21 since I last reported in.  After our fishing trip, we decided to get him a bow fishing kit.  With all the carp at the dock, I think he'll love using it there. He's already being practicing and is becoming quite good with the bow! He loves "outdoor stuff" so I'm glad we found something for him on his "Big Day."

Katie 

Katie finished her summer work at Cinemark. Luckily, she's been accumulating free passes (one of the perks of working there!) so I anticipate more movie watching for all of us!
We've been busy shopping for "L.A. Clothes" - since most of her NYC wardrobe is for much colder weather than she'll see in southern California. She is not sad to leave that New York weather!
She's been having a lot of fun with Zumba classes at the local 24 Hour Fitness.
We're working together on a cookbook, so she'll be able to make various dishes that she grew up enjoying.  She probably won't be home for Thanksgiving this year, so she wants to learn how to make all of our family specialties! :::sniff, sniff:::
Katie's been a huge help to me with getting Grandma to her multitude of dental appointments lately. (See below)
And... I just realized that the next time I "report in," I will probably be back from taking her to California. I'm going to miss her!!

Michael

Michael has been busy trekking across Nicaragua. He teaches in the eastern side of the country, but is often called back to Corazo area for Peace Corps training classes and workshops. It doesn't hurt that his girlfriend lives in La Paz and her family kindly allows him to stay there with them.  Considering his pay is about $100/month, and his food options are pretty bad where he lives, I'm happy that he has a family who feeds him whenever he's there!
Michael has had very little communication lately because his computer crashed. This is not an easy fix in a 3rd World country. Kathya thinks she knows someone that can fix it, but we'll see. In the meantime, she loaned him a computer from her family to take back to his house in Muelle de Los Bueyes (south central Nicaragua). Only problem was, he confused the 2 power cords and took the wrong one back. Considering mail is completely unreliable, he has to wait a couple of weeks to get back over there to get the right cord. All of these computer issues are troubling him because he and Kathya are trying to work on her Visa to come back to the USA with him for Alyssa's wedding next April.  Only about 10% of Nicaraguans who apply for visas are granted one, so we're a little worried. Cross your fingers!
On Wednesday, Michael experienced a 7.6 earthquake which occurred off the coast of Costa Rica but shook Nicaragua as well. He felt the tremor and said it lasted longer than any he remembered in Alaska or California. All day long, Nicaraguans anticipated a tsunami from the quake, but by the end of the day, the warning was lifted without any tsunami. He called to tell me about it, before I could hear about it from the computer or the news.  I'm glad because I would have been worried sick if I couldn't find out about him.

I found a different video and shared it at my earlier blogpost, "Mom! It's an Earthquake!" 
But here's CNN's report on this earthquake, with experts, maps and explanations:

Sue

After a couple of months of exercise (including weekly with Michelle, the trainer) and wishy washy dieting, I stuck with the Fuhrman Diet. And lost 7 lbs. in 2 weeks! For some reason, I fell off the wagon and ate all kinds of unhealthy stuff. So now I'm back on board. The diet is primarily plant-based. Crazy, seemingly excessive, amounts of leafy greens as well as 1 lb. of cooked veggies and 1 lb. of raw veggies, at least 4 fruit, and 1 cup of beans. That's the minimum! Really makes for a messy kitchen though. Oh well.
I offered to help my longtime friend, Linda Dobson, with her publication Parent at the Helm. The books she wrote really helped me tremendously when we first started homeschooling, so I am happy to help her out with PATH. I've written a few pieces and now I'm learning Wordpress, behind the scenes. I really like it so much better than Blogger, but I'm not sure about moving everything to a different blog. We'll see. If I can figure out the Wordpress "themes" down the road, I might do it.
And speaking of road... I'm looking forward to Katie and my road trip to California at the end of the month! Driving there, flying back.

Ron

Ron is still ordering parts and working on the motorcycle. Luckily, we have Grandma's Toyota Camry for him to drive to work.  He's had a couple of really great sailing weekends. He's doing different things with the sails, so he can control the speed and the ways the sails catch the wind. And, he bought the decal for the boat name change... O Susie Q.  We'll take a picture the next time we go up there (or he might go up while we're gone to California.)
I've never had a boat named after me! Kinda cool!

Grandma

I was sitting at my dining room table when my mom came up to me.
"Look at this," she said casually and placed a whitish almost plastic looking thing in my hand.
"What is it?" I asked.
"My tooth!"
Why this grossed me out, I have no idea. My kids have put far worse into my hands in years past. But this really bothered me.  Oh well.  I got over it.  Grandma's "chipped" tooth turned into 6 visits to the dentist and oral surgeon!  She needed a root canal, a crown lengthening, a post being added, a temporary tooth, and still a permanent one to go in there! Wow!
She's really enjoying all the activities that her apartment complex sets up. So, in spite of her forgetfulness and real need for a lot of help, I'd like her to stay there as long as possible. We're talking about how the next step is to move in with us - and she isn't resisting that. But, just like with the car, why resist until it actually comes to pass? Then, we'll see how she is with resistance. Hopefully, that's a little ways off.

Ron's "New" Boat

So... I leave for NYC for Katie's Graduation, and what does Ron do?
He races off to the lake and buys a sailboat! 

That's a little exaggerated for effect, even though it is factually correct.  We had talked about it and decided that if everything was okay with this one, this would be the one to get. It's not like I'm that knowledgeable about boat-buying, so I didn't really need to be there. I care about things like lighting in the cabin, how much air circulation goes through there, or if the cushions look nice. Ron only cares about "how she sails." So he went on up to Lake Texoma, where he looked at 3-4 boats he had been studying online.  After testing a few, he decided on this one. The name was already chosen long ago, Venus.

The Venus is 29 ft. 11 inches long, with a beam (the inner cabin part - very important to me/not so important to Ron)  is 10 feet, 2 inches wide.  It has a 13 HP inboard Volvo diesel engine. It has 3 single berths and 2 double berths. So we can sleep a few people. It really looks like a pretty sailboat.

While the 4.5 hr. drive from our house to the lake is quite a bit longer than I wanted, Lake Texoma is a fun lake. We've had lots of camping fun with friends there - we used to go in the summer with friends from Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls.  Even though I would have preferred Lake Belton, Texoma is a really good choice for a sailboat. Lots of wide open water and even some islands to explore.

Josh and Alyssa have already explored the fishing situation at Lake Texoma. It's an odd lake, in that more than half of it is in Oklahoma and the other half is still in Texas - it's right along the Red River. The lake has a surface area of 74, 686 acres! If you find Lake Texoma on Google Maps, you'll see how the state border is all over the place. In some places, it's right off the Texas shore. Fortunately, they offer special Lake Texoma fishing licenses because it's difficult to determine whether you're in  Texas or Oklahoma!

The Venus was actually built 40 years ago! In 1968 - I was only 7!  With most purchases, this would not be a good sign. But not a Bristol sailboat! Ron is so excited. He says that the newer boats just aren't built as well as this one. With all the boats he looked at, this was the only one that the bilge was dry. The owner took great care of the Venus.

We've had other boats, more of Project Boats, needing lots of work. Michael and Ron would work on them together, and we'd take them out on the weekends and swim off the side. This one is bigger than anything we've had before. Plus, it's already in really nice shape.

Katie and Alyssa are both excited for a sleepover at the boat! I think it will be a lot of fun this summer. Katie likes the quiet that sailboats bring, listening to the squeaking and the rigging. Alyssa, on the other hand, likes a little more adventure. I'm sure it won't be long before she wants to tie a Jet Ski to the side, so she can speed around!

The camera lens they used really distorts the cabin in the photos here. It makes the galley area look much longer than it really is. Still, it's plenty of room for us.

I've grown up on lakes: Lake of the Ozarks as a child, Lake Ray Hubbard outside Dallas - I love boats. I have to confess, though, I've not really been a sailor. It's a lot of work, and honestly, sometimes when the boat tilts, I get a little nervous. Ron thinks I should run down to Corpus Christi and take a couple sailing courses, just so I'll know what to do. That's probably a good idea. What would I do if he got knocked overboard? Don't ask me, I haven't taken the course yet!

Ron is hoping to retire in a couple of years, and he can really see himself puttering around on this boat. He's had to let hockey and horses go, so this is a nice retirement hobby! So if you can't find him, he'll probably be on the boat!