#15: Summer Has Sung
Well, it looks like I’m making a habit of spacing out my blog posts. Or as my dad lovingly pointed out: “Your website’s looking a little stale.” Sorry, but the whole summer flew by, and we definitely stayed busy, just not on the catamaran—and obviously, not on the blog! Since the last time I posted about epoxying the roof parts together, we haven’t touched the boat parts (except to move them aside for some electrical wiring). Oh, but Nick, Calvin, and Tristan did remove the temporary MDF forms that were holding up the roof.
We received our electric hoists in the mail so we could flip the roof, which remains our next step in the boat build, but while waiting for the hoists we decided to make progress on our laundry room and bathroom in the barndo. The hulls of Felicity will straddle the massing of those rooms while we build.
Nick outfitted all the plumbing and electrical necessary for phase one of our barndo, and he installed a Big Ass Fan in the best place he could that wouldn’t get in the way of flipping the boat roof but still be central enough to give off some moving air in the hot summer months.
We also got new wheels for our current living situation, which is really a downplayed way of saying we replaced our older travel trailer we’d been living in, in case we need a more reliable trailer to escape with before a hurricane. That whole process of researching, moving, and making a few necessary upgrades took a few precious weeks, but we felt it was an important step to take. (Bonus for the boys: their beds are two much needed inches longer!)
We spent another chunk of the summer designing and installing an A/C for the barndo. It was a family affair getting the ducts in place. Finally, after getting the Freon lines connected by the professionals yesterday, we now have cool, dehumidified air in the barndo. Hallelujah! May the boat build resume. . . .
But wait . . . we still need to make it even more comfortable for volunteers to come help us build. (Lookin’ at you, Mom and Dad!) Remember how I said we made progress on the guest bath and laundry room? Well, we need to actually finish the rooms with taping & floating, tiling & fixtures. Then we can pick back up with Felicity and roll out the red carpet for any beloved helpers!
2024’s summer held moments of play as well, especially for the kids. We celebrated several birthdays with extended family and friends, including a guys’ trip to South Padre Island. A visiting French cousin (Bonjour, Bart!) practiced his windsurfing, paddle boarding, chess, table tennis, pickleball, swimming, and Lego-building skills with Tristan and Calvin. They also found themselves frightened by Halloween decorations that made their way into stores in mid-July!
For the rest of the summer, Tristan and Calvin went up in a tethered hot air balloon, watched a cool drone show, took fun summer classes at a university, joined a local kids’ reading group, worked on their own passion projects, caught up with Grandi and Gramps, cousins, aunts, and uncles, volunteered at Kids in Kayaks, and helped neighbors with watering, pulling weeds, and dog walking.
And now, I can reset the clock from “stale” to “fresh”! I’ll keep you posted, but sporadically as usual. That reminds me of something. Here’s a random French word I learned over the summer that Bart taught me: aléatoire (ah-lay-ah-twah). It means “random.” Just thought you should know. I challenge you to use it in a sentence today!
Good bye, Bambi:
Hello, Piper:
