Welcome back to California Nomad and crew!

Nomad and crew arrived in the San Francisco Bay Monday night and anchored in front of Sausolito.They poked their nose in to Fisherman's Cove on the Farallon Islands, but were instantly swarmed by thousands of flies.  So they continued on, swatting flies.  In fact, when Eloise and I arrived at midday on Tuesday, the boat was STILL covered with flies.  Brian insisted that this was an improvement from the day before. We packed up dirty laundry and a few things and brought Brian back to Santa Cruz.  Mike has a friend in Sausolito so he is staying aboard for a few days socializing. 

One sad mishap occurred two days before their arrival. Uli lost his paddle.  Uli is our Windpilot that responds to wind direction accurately and steers the boat through gale and light winds.  His rudder that does this wonderful steering sheered off two mornings before Nomad arrived.  We relied on Uli and our CPT autopilot all the way from Santa Cruz to New Zealand and back.  He served us well and luckily Brian and Mike had our CPT Autopilot still.

Welcome back to California Nomad and crew! 

Almost to the Barn

Nomad has raced to the California coast like a horse to its barn at feeding time.  We had thought that a good run would be 20 to 21 days.  However, they will be anchoring at the Farallon Islands this afternoon, only 17 days after their departure from Hanalei Bay.  This is a situation in which we are thankful for fossil fuels.  They ended up motoring for at least 7 days out of the 17.  They would have been becalmed 1000 miles away from California without the 200 gallons of diesel we carry aboard.  Brian and Mike are heading toward Fishermans Cove on Southeast Island.  We've anchored there once before.
It might have been 7 years ago... Karson was aboard.  We pulled into the anchorage past a research vessel tossing a fake surfboard looking device into the ocean.  Some sort of camera device was involved.  Shark research we presumed.  We pulled into the anchorage.  There was no wind and the guano stench was oppressive in the heat.  To add to the ambience, hoardes of small flies filled our cockpit and cabin.  To escape them, we placed our bug screens over the entrances and retreated inside the boat where we killed the remaining flies and sweltered in the stagnant air.  Karson decided to go for a swim.  Brian and I thought that sounded refreshing but maybe not a good idea due to our location in the "Red Triangle."  Karson was almost done changing into swim trunks and we finally convinced him not to go in.  Not five minutes later, I saw something bobbing in the calm water about 40 feet from the boat.  I got out the binoculars to look.  It was a huge chunk of bloody seal flesh floating out direction.  The seagulls had not even spied it yet.  Soon there was a squawking fest as they located and descended on the partial carcass.  It floated past the boat and we all gave thanks that Karson decided not to go for a swim.

Hunting Dog returns

The guest speaker at church today was named Dave Smith, a fly fisherman.  He told the story about him and a buddy driving the 4wheel drive pickup on a dirt track out to put in their drift boat.  The buddy's dog was in the back. Suddenly a pheasant shot up in the air and dog was out of the truck and gone in an instant.  Dave looked at his buddy. The guy said "don't worry about it he'll be gone the rest of the day chasing one pheasant after the other going crazy and racing around for miles."  Then the guy got out of the truck, took his jacket off and dropped in on the ground, got back in and kept driving the 3 or 4 miles to the river.  The fished all day on a 12 mile drift and were driving the drop off vehicle after dark that night back to retrieve the other truck.  They rounded a bend and saw some bright eyes peering at them.  It was the dog. Sitting upright, still as a statue on top of his owner's jacket, waiting to get picked up.  The owner said, "oh yes, he would stay there for two or 3 days if he had to.  He knows that's how he gets home."  Dave was using this to illustrate a part of Genesis 12 when God called Abraham to leave countr, land, and home to go somewhere that God said he'd show him to later.  When they got to Canaan, "God said this is the place." except that there were lots of Canaanites there and it wasn't time yet for the promise to take place.  So Abraham journeyed on, made another altar on another part of Canaan, then journeyed on again to Egypt (because there was a famine in Canaan).  Unfortunately, he forgot to trust God to take care of him and his wife and messed things up down there.  He then returned to his altar, "a place of leaning in to God" is what Dave called it.  He returned, like the dog, to a place where he knew he could get home, knew he would be taken care of, where he had last heard God's voice.  When he got there, he leaned in to God again.  

Goings-on

It has been a busy 10 days since Nomad departed Hanalei Bay, Kauai bound for Santa Cruz.  He and Mike have since caught over 2 dozen Mahi Mahi (released more than 6 of them).  They have canned most of what they brought on board using the pressure cooker and old-fashioned canning jars.  They are now releasing all Mahi Mahi so that they have enough jars left to can the Albacore they are hoping to encounter in the cooler waters.  As happy as they are about the fish bonanza, Brian's email yesterday sounded pretty pleased about cooking the first of two frozen chickens aboard.

Over the last few days, Nomad has encountered a lot of debris in the ocean, mostly fishing gear, including the coveted Japanese glass fishing balls.  They have chased a few of these around with the boat, and finally caught one!  Mike generously declared that it is for Eloise.  They are making good time but have had to motor for the last 6 days.  They might soon have to conserve fuel for the end of the passage, and just bob slowly along until the wind picks up.

Two days after returning to California, Eloise and I joined my sister, brother, their families and my mom for a 4 day camping trip in Northern California.  Despite scrapes, sickness, squabbles and late nights the cousins all got along and the adults had a good time at Indian Scotty Campground outside of Yreka.

Flossie fizzles and Nomad prepares for departure

Well, the anticlimactic Flossie was a relief.  The night she was supposed to hit we lashed our sails down, tied the dinghy on deck and after sitting around with 10 kt winds, decided to barbecue.  We had a relaxing calm evening and a full night of sleep with no anchor watch required. **an anchor watch = when a big storm is blowing, someone stays awake to make sure that the boat anchor isn't slipping or dragging the boat toward other boats, rocks, or shore **  The next morning there were some 20kt gusts and a few sprinkles of rain. Later that afternoon, there was lots and lots of rain to fill up the tanks with delicious cloud-filtered water. 
Thank you to all who prayed for our safety.  It worked.

Eloise and I are now home in Santa Cruz. Brian and Mike are preparing to leave Hanalei Bay tonight or tomorrow morning.  Commander Weather is a weather routing service for boats.  They have given a very favorable forecast and travel plan for the next week. 

Any one interested in seeing Nomad's progress towards California may go to this link:  http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps_reporting_boat_list?pd=2 

Scan down the list of reporting boats for WDD9776 (that's Nomad's call sign). Then click on the "track" link to the right.  Brian has not posted yet but will begin soon.

Tropical Storm Flossie

Yup, about a week ago, Brian was joking with his Gorge friend, Ron, that there's no way we'd encounter a tropical storm in Hawaii since they rarely occur here.  However, it IS hurricane season, and the last storm was in the 90s.. so I guess it was time.  Now, here we are checking weather VERY regularly since Friday when Mike noticed Flossie heading this way.  We are still anchored in Hanalei Bay, Kauai.  The sand bottom of the bay is very good holding.  At this point Flossie appears to be weakening and we are not expecting seriously high winds. Nevertheless we are taking many precautions and awaiting the weather that may arrive. Today's weather has had many rain showers and not much wind.  We even brought Eloise to the beach to play and dig a huge water catcher hole in the sand with Daddy.  Lots of people were "sunbathing" in the rain.  It was a weird scene.  All is calm currently and going well as Brian and Mike lash loose things to the boat.  Tonight and tomorrow morning are the closest encounter we are predicted to have.  Our number one is to be safe, of course, and our number two hope for Flossie is that she will dump enough rain for us fill water tanks and not to have to schlep jerry jug cans back and for the to the beach.  We'll give you updates.

Yesterday, we zipped around the corner to "Tunnels" a known surf spot with a protecting reef for anchoring behind.  We got in some snorkeling and our first fish caught on this trip. Eloise was ecstatic when Mike pulled in a 12 inch lizard fish with pale golden yellow and blue markings.  She didn't mind that we released him after she got to pet him. 

More Tales from the Pacific

Wow, I just re-read my blog from July 23, 2011.  We were in Tonga, eagerly anticipating Eloise’s imminent first steps.  She was picking up seashells and sticking arms down crab holes. 

Things have changed a little bit.  Here we are on the island of Oahu. She still collects seashells, asking us if we think they are pretty.  Instead of sticking things down crab holes, Eloise made them new homes by poking her finger in the sand.  Now she is proudly learning to swim.  When she wears her life jacket, she flops her arms, kicks her legs and swims from one parent up to the sand on the beach.  Without life jacket, she lets us hold her tummy while she whirls her arms and legs around.  A new joy is when daddy holds her hands and flings her around and lets go so she splashes in the water.

While we were still in Honolulu, I finally got to meet “Kiwi Al” who has been a friend of Brian’s for many many years.  He is a tugboat captain.  When he heard that Eloise was screaming happily the day before when she spotted some tugboats next to the road we were driving on, he offered to give us a tour of his boat on a slow day.  It was so amazing.  I’ve liked tugs since I was a child reading our kid book, “Little Toot”  about a tiny tug.  But now, we have gotten to climb around on a real one. From the top tower where they steer, down to the state of the art Rolls Royce engines we explored and learned about tug boats.  We knew it was time to go, however, when Eloise curled up and laid down in the captain’s chair and asked if she could sleep aboard.  Thanks Alan!

Yesterday, we arrived in Hale’iwa harbor, near where Michael Crosier lives.  He continues to shuttle us to Costco, Whole Foods, gas stations, etc.  He also washed, dried, and folded our laundry at his house!  Thanks Michael!

This morning from the harborwe could hear a loud noised from the hills and town nearby.  It took me a few minutes of thought to figure out that it was a cacophony of wild chickens crowing and clucking, accompanied by the voices of other birds.  This confirmed that we are indeed in a Polynesian island.  From the Marquesas to Fiji, these wily birds live in the trees and bushes near villages, hiding their eggs until hatched, then foraging in fruit trees and opened coconut shells.  I’ve heard they make good eating even if they aren’t extremely plump.

Wednesday, we all leave for Hanalei Bay on the island of Kaui about 90 miles from here. It is reportedly one of the most beautiful anchorages in the islands.  Since Mike is an experienced sport-fishing boat captain, we are looking forward to him using his skills as we cross.  He even bought Eloise her own fluorescent pink lures.  She was excited.  In fact, ever since then, she has been “fishing” off the side of our boat when we are anchored.  “I really want to catch a Mahi Mahi.” She told us yesterday as she pulled up the rope she had thrown over the edge.  “I got one!” she announced and pantomimed removing it and gobbling it up.  She also informed us that she wants to be a fisher girl. 

I’m looking forward to running a one day a week preschool for Eloise and her same-aged cousin, Elijah when we get back to Santa Cruz.  Brian and I are also looking forward to hosting Thursday night sailing gatherings aboard Nomad this fall.  He’s a bit more dinged up on the outside, modified on the inside, has a new mainsail, and other new bits and pieces, but he’ll be home and needing to be used.

Back on Board in the Pacific

The very first thing Eloise wanted to see when she first re-acquainted herself with Nomad three weeks ago, was her “baby bed.”  It has been a year and eight months since she lived on Nomad but our stories and pictures have kept alive in her a familiarity and curiosity.  The other thing she immediately wanted to see was the blue hammock.  In Tonga and Fiji, Brian often rigged our turquoise hammock in the forward rigging.  Then, Eloise would spend hours in it.  This was pre-speech.  She would request time in the hammock by humming the first four notes to our “swinging, swinging…” song.  Now she just says, “Can we do the hammock today, Daddy?” 

So, Eloise has easily acclimated to boat life.  She LOVES going fast in the dinghy (with life jacket on), and likes jumping off the side of the boat in Brian’s arms (with life jacket on).  She has figured out how to make a stool out of the firm cockpit cushions by placing them on top of each other.  In fact, last week, I was outside and wondering why she was tossing cushions down the companionway.  I peaked in and caught her red-handed standing on the cushions, stretching up to the inside ledge in our galley where I had placed her birthday lollipops out of reach.  She is very at home.

Brian and I spent the first three weeks in Kona, getting Nomad out of dry dock, painting her bottom, cleaning inside and out, unpacking sails, boards and gear out of the salon and placing them back in their proper places on deck, trouble-shooting minor electrical issues, re-provisioning, and generally making a home again.   It was all made possible because my mom came with us for the first two weeks and watched Eloise, ran errands, did piles of boat laundry, and supported in many many ways while we got the boat in shape.  Jeff and Jane, Kona locals also were a huge support with friendship, local knowledge, the use of their car, sewing machine and laundry. We’re still getting systems organized but we set sail from Kona on July 6.  A great image I have of leaving the harbor is of Eloise standing in the cockpit (wearing harness and tether), holding on to the dodger braces with both hands eagerly looking out to sea ahead of us.  We had a fantastic passage across a notoriously very windy channel.  “Light” winds meant we had a reef in the main trying to slow ourselves down in the smooth water. 

We are waiting for the next period of light trade winds to come back around as we sit comfortably in the 20-boat marina on Lanai.  This is the first that we have felt truly on vacation.  On Hawaii, we did go to some hula dancing (Eloise LOVED the hula and wanted to go on stage every time), attended an amazing luau, and went to the beach frequently, and attended 4^th of July festivities, but it was all interspersed with chores.  On Lanai, we are truly relaxing together as a family and having fun at the beach, on the grass at the marina, driving around the island, or going to the park in the one town on the island.

We arrived in Lanai at 7:30 am on Eloise’s birthday.  Her first present was opened under way.  The rest of the day was spent swimming and attending a huge community gathering/potluck/send-off to the Hukolea, a well-known traditional sailing canoe that was visiting.  The best part of it was that Eloise got to run around bare-footed till late at night playing with local kids.  A very close second best was the amazing food and feeling of community we experienced.

Brian and I regularly experience things that make us feel nostalgic for our Polynesian crossing in 2009.  Everything from tattoos, plants, rakes, architecture, and the aloha spirit brings back good memories.  Cruising in Hawaii has been a good blend of American conveniences and Polynesian culture.  We’ll see what the next three weeks hold.  That is all that is left before Brian and his friend Mike set off on the 3-week crossing to return Nomad to Santa Cruz.

More pictues

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: megan Vaughn <meganodee@yahoo.com>
To: Blog <meganodee.email@blogger.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2013 9:48 AM
Subject: More pictues

Here are some photos.  Not all most recent but better than nothing.

Dreams of joy and perfection

My mom and I are going to start  little school time sessions for Eloise.  She is so incredibly curious these days that it's enjoyable to daydream of activities and school goals for her. 
Kaleidoscope is a local parent/teacher store that is jam-packed floor to ceiling with gadgets, books, art supplies, puzzles, toys, etc.  I've been imagining a careful, thoughtful trip to Kaleidoscope with a well-researched list of age appropriate items to acquire. 
Instead, I got there with 9 minutes before closing, having spent about 2 minutes brainstorming in the car en route.  Poster paints and some kid-sized insect dominoes were my acquisition.  Eloise won't know the difference between how I imagined and what transpired.  But I will. 

As a teacher and a parent I imagine I should be well-equipped to teach and raise her in a wise path.  But, dirty floors, traffic, and schedules minimize my success, my self-judged success. 

Thinking about this incident makes me realize two things.  God is my Daddy and he is far better equipped to teach and raise me than anyone else.  If I spend my time joyfully imagining Eloise learning and playing with a perfectly age-appropriate toy or learning gadget, how much more time does the Creator spend doing the same for me and you and all of his kids? What if there was a cosmic Kaleidoscope store just for God to peruse and select life circumstances and friendships and sunsets and outdoor adventures for us kids to encounter in well-timed Life School!  I believe it is really something like that.  He knows how to love us and teach us in exactly the right way because he knows our love languages and our learning styles.

There's a verse in the Bible that says, "I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the Lord; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope."  And the good thing is his plans don't ever get interrupted by traffic or procrastination.  

I think Eloise will enjoy her finger paints and her dominoes but I wonder what plans God has for her!  I'm looking forward to finding out and being a part of them.

Back on the Wagon

Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since my last post.  However, in that time I took an intensive 8-week online course.  Now I'm certified to be an online teacher!  I don't have any online courses to teach currently but I am hoping that this will open doors for me so I can be more flexible with my teaching schedule.  The ultimate goal is to continue to stay home with Eloise as many hours a week as possible while still helping pay some bills.  During that 8-week course, I created, close captioned, and posted my very first YouTube video EVER.  Very exciting.  The video isn't exciting but the process and the accomplishment is.

Since my last visit to this blog, Eloise turned 2!  When asked how old she is she always answers, "Ten!" with a smile that shows she knows just how cheeky her answer is.  Some accomplishments are that she graduated to a toddler bed, sleeps through the night (most nights), and jumps on the neighbor's trampoline all by herself.        Currently we are in Kansas with Grandma, Grandad, Aunt, Uncle, and three cousins.  Other than the over 100 degree heat, we are enjoying seeing family we haven't seen in a long time.

I'm enjoying all of the grownup sounding words Eloise is wielding..."earlier" "maybe" "yesterday" and her delightful counting, "49, 3, 2"  when there's a lot of something.  She frequently wants to know what people are doing and where they are going.

Along with this curiousness came our first mildly embarrassing question.  Recently, we walked past a woman smoking.  About two feet away from the woman, Eloise looked at her and then looked at me, "lady doing?"  How do I explain smoking to a two year old?  Do I tell her that it's a burning piece of paper people like to put in their mouths because it makes them feel good?  No. All I said is, 'it's called smoking.' and left the subject alone.  This is just the beginning of difficult questions.  Hopefully, wisdom will arrive as needed.

Garden Notes

Unwilling to use a Monsanto product on our property, I googled ways to kill poison oak without Roundup. One suggestion was to spray vinegar on it. Another suggestion, from my gardener sister-in-law was to pour boiling water on it. Both strategies have worked! The boiling water provides immediate gratification as I watch small young specimens droop in seconds. However, it would be impractical for a large, well-established stand of the vile plants. Pouring white vinegar on the leaves of some largish plants 4-5 days in a row has had great results, though not immediate. Arugula (aka 'rocket' in New Zealand) is growing like a thick carpet. Remember, Eloise sowed those seeds and they are one thick mat. I cannot pick it fast enough. Fortunately, I found a recipe for Arugula-Cilantro Pesto in my Vegetarian Planet cookbook. If I go heavy on the cilantro (also growing profusely in my garden) the pesto is quite yummy. Eloise is growing too! She speaks whole sentences about many many topics. She happily reports on events around her, and small changes in her daily scenery. A first time babysitter reported to me this week, "she has a lot to say." Yes she does. Her current favorite song is, "Jesus loves the little chickens, all the chickens of the world. Red and yellow, black and white...." Sung to the tune of "Jesus Loves the Little Children". Nomad...hmm. I don't know if he is really a garden specimen but he probably has algae growing in the dips of the non-skid. He is sitting on stands in a marina in Kona Hawaii. All I can hope is that he isn't also harboring large colonies of Kona Cruisers. Ugg. We had hoped to sail him to the West Coast this summer but since we'll be both teaching summer school, there won't be time to do that. This means a whole year sitting by himself on the hard. It's a strange feeling to have him abandoned and far away after so much time aboard.

Gamma and Dad

Damma (Grandma) and andad (Granddad) have been here for the past 10 days. She got to be pulled around in a red wagon, picked up, read to, and generally been the main focus of attention for the entire time. Damma sewed a curtain for Eloise's room and played the piano for/with her. Unfortunately, I've now got a fractured metatarsal in my right foot....acquired while walking and carrying my sturdy little lady. It seems like it's going to be a long 4-6 weeks, especially as we're starting a road trip with Ama tomorrow to visit cousins and aunt and uncle in Portland. I'm sure it will all figure itself out, one day at a time. It's been interesting to be back in the U.S. Six months now for Eloise and me. I find myself getting caught up in the comparison game already. When we were in Fiji sitting on handwoven pandanu mats on cement block floors gritty with ant highways and years of cooking smoke, I didn't look around at what our hosts did or didn't have. But when I look around our little dome (enormous in comparison to every single house we entered in the South Pacific), I criticize the old upholstery on the couch or cringe that I don't have a matching set of dishes. Luckily I got a nice reminder of what is really important the other day while reading 1 John 2: 15-16 "15 Don’t love the world or anything that belongs to the world. If you love the world, you cannot love the Father. 16 Our foolish pride comes from this world, and so do our selfish desires and our desire to have everything we see. None of this comes from the Father." Once again, re-focused on the plethora of things/relationships for which I am thankful. I have far more stuff than I really need. Far more stuff than most of the people I met on our voyage. What's going to really matter when I'm dead and gone is relationships and my choices to love the folks in my world.

Why?

Eloise said, "Why?" for the first time this past week. 

A banana slug was in the cat food dish.  She has seen them before and still remembers the first time she ever saw one.  BUT this time she took a step back and looked at me, "hab it?" she asked.  "No," I said, "but you can touch it.  It's sticky." And then the why!  It surprised me. Did she really want to know why the slug was sticky?  So I asked her if that's what she meant.  "Yes." she said.  Ok.  I stammered around and said something about how the sticky stuff protects it.  I don't even know if that's true.  I've got to be more prepared next time.  I don't mind saying, " I don't know." but in my head while I was trying to answer Eloise's first Why, I was already grieving the passing of this first milestone.  I certainly didn't want her first ever Why to to be given an I don't know. 

Album

She also likes rocking in her own chair, eating whipped cream (that was her first time ever!), and going to the Long Marine Lab.

Home to the Dome

So, the Thom family is making its home in a dome. Eloise knows the word 'dome' means home. I was showing her a picture of a spider web and telling her that was the spider's house. She pointed to the picture and said, "dome". The days when her home was a boat seem a long time ago. Five months of being a landlubber has flown by for Eloise and me. We still shake our heads at the length of Brian’s trip and all of the acts of providence that helped him along his way. There were plenty of challenges but every single time something went awry, Brian had what he needed, or he was provided for. For example, Brian and crew set out on the last leg of the trip, from Christmas Island to Kona, Hawaii. Within an hour, a turnbuckle on the bobstay broke. This required them to turn back. There are no turnbuckles for sale on Christmas Island. Where was he to get one? Timei (our local friend) mentioned that he had some customers arriving in a few days and he had their phone number. Brian called them and they were willing to courier a new turnbuckle down to him without too much delay. And the stories like that are endless. A stranger in the Kona marina got to talking to Brian and then offered him the use of his scooter to get around for a week. Friends of a friend put Brian up in their house for the two nights before he flew out, AND they did all of his laundry for him! It’s been one month of being a two parent family again. Brian, Jeff #2, and Krista arrived in Kona, Hawaii on the 12th of February. Brian, with the help of many strangers and friends of friends, got the boat cleaned, organized, packed up, and hauled out of the water for storage in dry dock. He’s been back in California a little over one month. He had one week to hang out with Eloise, sleep, and try to adjust to life on land before it was time for him to take over teaching independent studies for the Santa Cruz county office of education. I’d been taking his place for one month so he wouldn’t lose the job. Eloise stayed with Ama (my mom) during the day, for that month while I worked. Then, Eloise had the delight of cousin Julia (4 years old) and Auntie Erica from Kansas coming to play with her for one week. It worked out perfectly. Brian flew in two days before Erica and Julia had to return home. We had the benefit of their nanny service AND Brian got to see his sister for the first time in a year and a half. I transitioned from 5 days a week to two and am enjoying meeting students. However, I couldn’t imagine missing more than two days a week with Eloise. Other than getting Brian back safely, another dream has come true. While we were away in Tonga, I longed to plant a garden again. So, with Eloise’s help, there are seeds sleeping in the soil of our raised bed. She helped me place them in their holes and told them, “night night” when I covered them with their blankets of dirt. Chard, cilantro, tomatoes, peppers, and more. AAAAH. What a good feeling it is to have a garden. Above ground, right now there are only a couple stray sunflowers that reseeded from last year. But in my mind’s eye, I am harvesting, processing, freezing, and cooking food that I get to pick myself. And then there’s those practical flowers zinnias, yarrow, and more sunflowers that I ONLY plant because they attract good bugs…. I might just accidentally pick and enjoy one or two in a vase this summer. I laugh and smile many times a day, thanks to Eloise, our sweet, humorous, social tomboy. I still find it ironic that in my teens and twenties I was adamant that I did not want to have a baby. I was even more adamant that I would never stay home and be a “housewife”. I seemed oppressive. But I feel so alive, playing games of chase with Eloise in between all the daily chores that keep a home enjoyable. And I’m not a “house” wife. I have an outdoors, indoors, library, park, Ama’s house, kitchen, grocery store occupation. It’s varied and not lonely. It’s social (making time for play dates!) and independent. I am very fortunate to have this job. Eloise has quite a job description, too. She enjoys almost everything…taking baths, taking walks, playing chase, jumping on our neighbor’s trampoline with daddy, hiding, carrying arms full of dolls around the house, making towers, talking (LOTS of language. We stopped counting how many words she uses), going for walks riding in the backpack on mommy’s back. Feeding and petting the kitties. Eloise enjoys living. It means we have lots of smiles.

Ruthie

The first thing  I did when I got back to my mom's house from Christmas Island was to walk in to Ruthie's room to see if it was true.  She really was gone.  When I left we had just found out she had severe artery blockages which were predicted to slowly allow her feet and legs to die, leading to gangrene and then a slow painful death.  But, one week later she was gone.  I heard the news by satellite phone.  My brother was with my mom in the early morning when Ruthie went to be with her "Mommy, Daddy, Brandy, Whitepaws, and Cat Cat." Ruthie has been telling us for years, "me ready go up to heaven."  The previous list is who she knew she would see when she got there. It's strange to have her gone.  I miss her tight, long, snuggly hugs.  Ruthie hugged like a child, head tucked into my chest, exuding gratitude and pleasure, fully present and accepting the hug as if it were a gift. 

 

The suddenness of her departure made us wonder what happened.  Then Janet, Ruthie's friend, and ours said, "maybe God just took her."  That seems right.  Ruthie was in a lot of pain for the last few months and it looked to be a long haul ahead but instead she got to skip all the dire predictions and head straight to the arms of Jesus and mommy, daddy and all those pets that have gone on ahead.

 

This past weekend was spent with my sister and mom organizing for the services.  My favorite thing we did was to bake cookies for the reception that followed Ruthie's memorial services.  Mom asked me to bake a few dozen so I asked her to help me think of what Ruthie's favorite cookies were.  "Lots of frosting and sprinkles" was Mom's immediate response.  That sounded exactly right.  So, we made frosted sugar cookies topped with rainbow colors of sprinkles in shapes of dolphins, fish, bears, cows, stars and moons.  My last gift to Ruthie.  Her many gifts to me were colored pages, Bible verses, hugs, smiles, dances together, prayers, and a model of faith like a child.

Christmas in January

Well, here Eloise and I are aboard Nomad. Brian and I decided that two months apart was far too long so I booked flights from California to Portland to Honolulu to Christmas Island, Kiribati. The 3 day journey was long but I felt taken care of by family and strangers alike. Only one flight per week arrives and one flight per week departs from the airport here. The customs and immigration officers get most of their work processing the paperwork of the large Ecuadorian purseiner fishing ships that base themselves off the island. This is a very very fishy place. "World class bone-fishing" I've been told and read many times. The handful of other gringos that debarked with me here were all arriving to either fish or surf. In fact, there is a law that locals aren't allowed to fish for bonefish in order to leave them for the tourists.
Brian greeted us through the chain link fence next to the runway as we walked to the tiny wooden one-roomed building to get stamped in. He'd caught a ride with the immigration lady that processed his boat paperwork that morning.

We've been here one week. It feels as if we just arrived and yet we only have one week left. Yesterday was a really fun and full day. We hitched a ride to a surf break with an Australian man staying at a surf camp. The ride consisted of a car and then a local wooden boat. Approximately 25 feet long, the yellow and red canoes are all made here on the island. It's a canoe with a platform with benches across the top and an outrigger off of one side. Powered by a 40hp outboard motor, they handle chop and waves quite smoothly because of their construction. We were dropped off at the east side of the strip of land surrounding the world's largest atoll lagoon, and walked five minutes to the West side-the ocean side. Coral sand here is, white, soft and almost fluffy when dry. Eloise and I played on the beach while the guys went surfing. Brian cut his surf session short so he could have more time with us. Our time together is precious after having been apart for so long. Eloise became very agitated whenever she thought we might be taking her away from her boogey board. In fact, she didn't want to ride on in very long with daddy dragging her along the shallow waters like in the past. Instead she wanted to stand on in on the beach and wiggle around like a surfer surfing. That and collecting sea shells occupied most of our time at the beach.

We didn't get back to Nomad until 2:00. Then a batch of cookies and lunch and a little bit of clean up brought us to 5:00. time to go ashore to the Rainbow Lodge. This is the property of Simi and Sima. Jeff is staying ashore there until he flies out tomorrow. They have two tidy cottages for rent to tourists. The cottages are made almost entirely out of coconut tree products. Simi and Sima had invited us to dinner and so we arrived, took showers in Jeff's cottage and then relaxed in the shade around a table wondering what the protocol was. Soon Sima and her daughters started carrying out dishes and covered bowls of food. The table was covered. But there weren't enough chairs for all. Simi informed us that their tradition is to let the guests eat first. And then the whole family disappeared into their house, leaving us to eat by ourselves! The youngest daughter appeared at one point to play with Eloise while I kept eating.

And there are more fun times since...

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one more thing

If you want to track Brian's progress across the Pacific, here is the link:

http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/tracker.php?ident=wdd9776

Please pray for encouragement, more fish, and winds and currents to go the right direction to help him to his destination.

Thanks

My Bonnie lies over the ocean

Well, that song used to be really irritating to me when I was learning it for piano lessons as a kid. Strangely, I find myself singing it lately. It is simple and concise. Bring back my Brian to me!!
It's been a month since I wrote. Every evening after Eloise goes to sleep, I sit down and check weather, look up things Brian might need to know on the internet and then compose an email that is informational, and yet full of tidbits of Eloise's changes and her delightful ways. So, my writing is pretty much all for Brian right now.
To summarize the last month. Brian is still sailing the boat with his friend Jeff. They are still in the Pacific Ocean heading toward Kona, Hawaii via Christmas Island (the island nation of Kiribati). They are now in the north Pacific, having crossed the equator around the 15th or 16th of Dec. It has been slow, challenging and lonely for the guys. But, they have caught one beautiful Mahi Mahi, recently sailed out of the ITCZ (a zone of weather that is full of squalls, changing winds, rain, and difficult sailing conditions).

Eloise and I have continued to slowly move things into The Dome, the house we will be renting from my mom. Eloise had lots of fun learning mischief from her 3 older cousins over Christmas. She is learning many words every week and enjoys saying silly sounds, enjoys playing with washcloths still, and is incredibly social and compassionate. She was a present-opening machine on Christmas Day. She helped her aunt Brooke open many of Brooke's presents, as well as opening her own and mine. We are impatiently waiting Brian's return and may fly out to Christmas Island to see him when he gets there.