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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.

Thanksgiving an ocean apart

Eloise and I enjoyed Thanksgiving day today in San Leandro with my mom, brother, and his family.  Lemon sage turkey, homemade wild rice bread, cashew pea salad, etc.  Brian celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday on the island of Wallis (of Wallis and Futuna) with Jeff Ault his friend and crew member.  They ate a pressure cooker meal of chicken, potatoes, carrots, onions, etc.  The recipe was taken from Michael Greenwald "The Cruising Chef" page 65. 

We are very far apart and yet I am incredibly thankful that Brian is safe and has all that he needs to make the repair to the forestay that broke while at sea a few days ago.  A broken forestay can sometimes lead to a dismasting or worse.  But all it resulted in so far was an uncomfortable motorboat ride to an unplanned stop on a tropical island in the Pacific. 

The consistent prayer I and my family have prayed for this passage is that Brian will have everything he needs for whatever he encounters.  So far that has been the case.  For example, the ship computer crashed.  That's the way he communicates.  But thanks to my mom asking me about it, while I was in New Zealand  I loaded backup software on our laptop to allow Brian to use that computer for emailing while at sea.  Without that, he would have had nothing.  As it is communication has continued uninterrupted. 

Here in Santa Cruz, Eloise is learning new words every day.  I'm working a little bit to help my mom write a curriculum she's been hired to put together.  Otherwise, Eloise and I are taking walks, re-connecting slowly with friends, and starting to get organized to move in to the dome up the hill from my mom.  Eloise misses Brian and her Kiwi Nana and Papa.  She talks about them, looks at their pictures in a flip book I put together, and watches the videos Brian made of him saying hi to her.  And it looks like another four weeks minimum until we're reunited.  This is HARD.  I don't like it at all.  I guess Brian has it harder.  At least I'm not rocking around having to repair things, AND I get to have Eloise to snuggle with.

Here's one photo.