Monday, Monday

Actually, this is not a typical Monday. Last week I realized there was a major lull in my workload, and it was sure to yawn into this week. I've been needing a vacation but haven't managed to plan anything. Dave took a week-long sailing course in March and he's short-handed at work, so he doesn't need a break as much as I do and really can't get away for awhile. On Thursday, I decided to take this week off.

Dave was off for the weekend. He was on one of his "let's pack every second with fun" kicks, so we were BUSY. If it weren't for the America's Cup, I probably wouldn't have gotten much knitting done at all. On Saturday we rode bikes along the river from West Carrollton to Miamisburg and back - 19 miles roundtrip. We usually see a Great Blue Heron fishing at some point, and this ride did not disappoint. 'Made my day.

Yesterday was cloudier but windier, and we headed for the marina. Other sailors had the same idea. At one point there were four other sailboats on the lake. The fishermen were out en force, but the water was choppy. They congregated in the no-wake zone at the north end of the lake. Very few of them roared by, and there were only one or two jet skiis on the lake.

I tried to get pics of the other sailboats, but our boat was heeling quite a bit and the waves made it a challenge. It was hard to keep them in the frame. I got the following shots, and then...

I got busted!

Dave and I don't know that couple, so we don't know if our photo's going to pop up on someone else's blog.

Owning a boat is much like owning a house. There's always a list of improvements we'd like to make, and there're always headaches. When we cast off from the dock, it's my job to sit on the bow and hold a line that's looped loosely around a cleat on the dock until Dave signals that he's ready to back out of the slip. The past couple of times I've been up there, I've noticed a wasp going in and out of the finger-hole on the cover over the space where the anchor is stored.

Yesterday Dave took a look and discovered a wasp's nest on the anchor. (It's the fist-sized thing that looks like a ball of mud.) He pitched the nest into the water without getting buzzed or stung. However, it wouldn't surprise either one of us if there's a new nest in there when we come back.

There is progress to report on the linen jacket. The back and both front panels are finished, and the first sleeve is well underway. It's still linen-colored and not very exciting to look at, but I'll include pics tomorrow.