Sheet Music is Heading Home!

Our winter fun is over, and we left Stuart, FL, this morning heading for our home port. We had a beautiful sunny day on the water with 10-15 knots of wind, perfect for some motor sailing.

We're on a mooring at the Vero Beach City Marina.

We're disappointed that we didn't make it to the Bahamas, but my back just wasn't good enough to handle dinghy rides and I was concerned about crossing with an injured back. It is mostly healed, but I still have some discomfort, especially at night after being up all day. I have an appointment with my doctor at home next month and will ask about PT.

Tomorrow we'll catch up with old friends, Mark and Sara Turner, for dinner at Ichabod's at the Melbourne Harbor Marina, then on to Titusville.

Discovered Back Injury While Home; We're Back on Sheet Music; New Grandchild Due this Summer!

We are back on Sheet Music after an unexpected, extended stay at home. We had a wonderful Christmas with all of our kids and grandkids together for the first time in five years! It was fabulous.

First, the good news…Our best Christmas present was the announcement that we’re going to have a new grandbaby!  We are over the moon. Our youngest, Ryan, and his wife, Catherine, told us the good news and we had to keep it secret for more than three weeks, which was killing me. I wanted to tell the world. I’m so excited!

Now the bad news and the reason our stay at home was extended. I saw my family doctor on Christmas Eve morning because I was still unable to sit comfortably since my fall in Daytona on Nov. 4, followed by a rough ride in a friend’s dinghy in early December. She ordered an X-ray and two MRIs. The results: a compression fracture at L1 and three sacrum fractures from the top of S-3 to the bottom of S-5.  No wonder I wasn’t able to sit!

After consulting my neurosurgeon, who then referred me to a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation doctor at Rothman (I didn’t know there was such a specialty), I got the okay to return to Sheet Music.  No dinghy rides for a while, no heavy lifting and “if it hurts, don’t do it,” were my instructions.

We left home on Tuesday morning in our own car and drove straight to my mom’s in Ocala for an overnight stay and brief visit. Wednesday morning, my sister and her husband came for breakfast and we opened Christmas gifts. By lunchtime, we were heading south for the marina, complete with roasted turkey sandwiches from mom.

I think we brought the cold weather with us, because I’ve worn two sweatshirts for the past two nights, but it’s warmer today (near 70) and the sunshine feels good!

We drove to Publix (a treat now that we have a car) and reprovisioned.

I have my coccyx pillow, pain and muscle relaxer meds (which I’m only taking in the evening), and am trying to take it easy. We’re just happy to be back in Stuart, FL. Especially since they’re calling for more snow at home.

Sam, the dockmaster here, moved us closer to the marina office, still on the seawall, to make room for a bigger boat coming in. I’m happy because it’s a shorter trek to the bathhouse and laundry. We’re lucky to even be at a dock. There is such a long waiting list and we can’t be in a mooring field, because I can’t ride in a dinghy yet.

Our tide/wall clock stopped working while we were gone. The next day, the water pump kept kicking on. After some investigating, Chuck discovered the hot water heater is leaking. Unfortunately, it’s under the solar control panel AND the air conditioning unit. Not a very convenient place to get to for replacement. So he bypassed it for now, so at least I have running water, just cold. It looks like we’ll be using the bathhouse for showers for a little while until he confirms that the tank is leaking and gets his hands on a new one.

Such is the cruising life. Someone told me last night that “cruising is just fixing your boat in more exotic places.” Sadly, that’s the truth! LOL.

We’re looking forward to a visit with our grandsons, Dylan and Jimmy and Jimmy’s girlfriend, Angela, next week in West Palm. We brought down Jim’s Christmas presents that he couldn’t take on the airplane…golf clubs, a tent and bedding won’t fit in a suitcase!  Our car was loaded on the trip down.

We’ll hang here in Stuart for the month of February, then we’ll see how my back is. If I’m feeling up to it, we may head to the Bahamas after all or maybe the Florida Keys. Time will tell.

We’ve heard from so many cruisers who have had health or boat issues this year and couldn’t complete their trip. We’re hoping to put this all behind us soon and move on.

Today I did a load of laundry and Chuck spent the day in the lazzarette working his way to the hot water heater. Which means I have no air/heat for now, so we dug out the old reliable portable heater for a few days until the sun warms things up again.

For those of you who always ask what I’m making for dinner, last night we had seared scallops, sautéed broccoli and a spring garden salad with strawberries, walnuts and feta cheese. I’m making chicken and vegetable stir-fry for dinner tonight.

We wish everyone a very happy, healthy 2014!

Loving Florida Life; Driving Home for Christmas

To quickly catch you up on what’s been happening the past 5 weeks, we’ve been busy with friends, working on the boat, enjoying beautiful Downtown Stuart and even got some family time in.

We rented a car for Thanksgiving and drove to my mom’s house in Ocala for the night. Chuck repaired/replaced her kitchen lights and I worked on her computer. On Thanksgiving, we all went to my niece’s house in Jacksonville for a family feast. I think there were 18 of us. I forgot to take pictures! It was wonderful and we even got leftovers to bring back to the boat to enjoy for lunch.

We’ve been having a great time with our friends in Stuart and enjoying the Florida sunshine and warm temperatures.

Alan and Patti Blumberg, John and Joan Conover, and Ed and Gloria Hogan have been gracious hosts for dinner in their beautiful homes. It was great to see all of them and we look forward to having them on Sheet Music in January.

Boating friends Carl and Chris Gustavsen have made us many delicious meals in their home that we’ve enjoyed with Bill and Patti Turner. We anchored out last weekend in a raftup with them for the Martin County Christmas Parade of Lights. Some boats went all out in their decorating. We understand there was a $10k prize at stake. 

Chuck at helm of Annalee.

Bill and Patti raising the sail on Annalee.

One day we all went sailing on Bill and Patti's 41 ft. motor sailor, Annalee. They have a new mast and new sails and changed it to a gaffe rig tri-sail. Chuck had the opportunity to sail it and the six of us had a great time!

We had a great visit with Jim and Angela on Dec. 5.

Our oldest grandson, Jimmy, came up from West Palm Beach with his girlfriend, Angela, and we had lunch here at Sailor’s Return. We took a long walk around the area and I had the opportunity to get to know Angela a bit. She’s a sweet girl and I can see why Jimmy loves her.

Jazzy and I take daily walks along the Riverwalk, through the streets of Historic Stuart, where there are lots of little shops and restaurants and return through Flagler Park. Of course, Jazzy gets lots of attention and she loves that. Some places even put bowls of water out for the dogs.

Our address through January.

The dog walk.

One of many picturesque views from the Riverwalk.

Another pretty Riverwalk view.

Sheet Music is moving to the seawall on Sunday for the rest of December and the month of January. We’ll pull up the dinghy and scrub the bottom. On Monday, Patti is taking Chuck to the airport in West Palm Beach to pick up our rental car. We saved more than $100 by picking up the car at an airport. We’ll drive to my sister Penny’s house to have dinner, load up our stuff that we gave her in Daytona and at Thanksgiving, then drive home on Tuesday to spend Christmas with our kids and grandkids. We expect to be home for 10 days, then drive my car back here.

I’m loving this Florida weather and hate the thought of the snow and cold, but it’s only for a short time and it will be great to see the kids and grandkids.

I’m taking on a few writing projects in January, then we’ll either head to The Keys or Bahamas, depending on how Mom Mc is.

I’m looking forward to hosting our friends for dinner on Sheet Music while we’re at the dock! It has been peaceful on the mooring ball, but I like to be able to just step off the boat and take a walk without having to interrupt whatever project Chuck is working on. And it’s hard to have anyone over for dinner when they have to get a (maybe) wet dinghy to get here!

I am (mostly) healed up from my fall off the boat in Daytona. I still have some swelling on my shin and my back is a bit tender at times, but I was really lucky! I have an appointment to see my doctor while we’re home.

Enjoyed our visit with Jim Mosher on Valinor.

We caught up with our friend, Jim Mosher, who keeps his boat in Annapolis. He is working his way to Key West for the holidays, where he has friends awaiting his arrival. The day after the parade of lights, he arrived and rafted up to Sheet Music. He came aboard and enjoyed dinner and a visit. It was great to see him.

Chuck changed the zinc yesterday...or should I say,
put a new one on. There was a tiny sliver of the zinc left!

We've seen many beautiful sunsets here and are enjoying life on a boat.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and the happiest of new years!

Arrived in Stuart, FL, Our Winter Home

Saturday, Nov. 9:

We left Vero Beach this morning under sunny skies and high winds. The forecast was 20-25 with gusts to 30, but we decided at 8 a.m. to leave and get to Stuart.

It was sunny and warm, high 70s. The Indian River was wide, but there were a lot of markers because the channel was narrow.

We arrived at North Fort Pierce Bridge at 9:45 a.m. It is an on-demand bridge, but the bridge tender had orders from the U.S. Coast Guard NOT to open the bridge until 11 a.m. So the skipper pulled out the sails and shut the motor off and we sailed around for an hour. At 10:45, he pulled them in to get ready to go through the bridge.

Hours later, as we were approaching the Old Roosevelt Bridge, it was readying to open for a barge and the tender told us she would let us through too and we should catch up. We did, but then had to wait while the barge slowly went through the bridge. It looked like it barely fit! There was another sailboat waiting with us.

We arrived in Stuart, FL, around 3:15 p.m. and hooked on mooring ball #30. We put the motor on the dinghy and went to the office to pay for the month. Then we went to Annalee to see Patti and Bill, former A dockers at Viking, who are liveaboards. They came up from Marathon to spend some time with all of us. They made salad, spaghetti, meatballs and sausage for dinner for us, so we went back to Sheet Music and got showers, left Jazzy on the boat and went to Annalee for dinner. Our friends, Chrissy and Carl, came as well and they brought warm Italian bread and a big bottle of wine for Chuck. It was great to see everyone.

We have plans to go to dinner Sunday night with all of them and Ralph and Bette, friends from our marina at home.

We all made it through the North Fort Pierce
Highway Bridge after a long wait.

A barge squeezes through the Old Roosevelt Bridge

We made it! Stuart at last.

Bill and Patti's new tender for Annalee.

Look who we found! Annalee and our friends Bill and Patti.

Bill, Chrissy, Carl, Chuck and Patti onboard Annalee.

Moored in Vero Beach; Surprised to See Empty Moorings Here

We left Melbourne around 7:45 a.m. and arrived at the Vero Beach Municipal Marina/Mooring Field at 11:40 a.m. We needed pump out, and it’s free here. So we had to circle around for half an hour because their city dock is small and they had a fishing boat getting fuel. There was another sailboat ahead of us waiting to fuel up.

We didn’t get fuel, because we are carrying 15 gallons in jerry jugs and Chuck wanted to use them since our destination is Stuart (at least for now) and we’ll be there tomorrow.

I napped a good part of the day because the flexeril I’m taking for my back is making me sleepy. I still can’t sit for very long, so I’m lying down most of the time.

There were dolphins playing around our boat after we grabbed mooring #54 in the south field. The last time we were here, each mooring had two or three boats on it. This time, there are empty moorings and no one is "buddied up."

I made home fries and boneless pork chops for dinner with applesauce.

Tomorrow: Stuart, FL

A barge passing us.

Waiting for pump out.

Chuck made new lines for the dinghy.

We Have Cable TV in Melbourne! Watching Parenthood Tonight

Thursday, Nov. 7:

I woke up at 6 a.m. and it was clear out. I looked out 10 minutes later and saw that fog was coming in. By 7:15 a.m., it was hard to see the bridge. We left the mooring at 7:45 a.m. and the fog was starting to dissipate. We put on the radar, hung the radar ball and turned on the steaming and navigation lights. By 9:15, I was able to turn them off and there was no sign of fog.

I took half a flexeril and another later in the day, so I slept a lot while we were underway. I just can’t get comfortable.

I called Melbourne Harbor Marina and made a reservation. We arrived around 1:10 p.m. I did three loads of laundry, then made Beef and Broccoli for dinner.

We actually have cable TV tonight, so we’re watching The Voice and our favorite, Parenthood.

Tomorrow: Vero Beach, FL

Jazzy sleeping with her favorite toy, Lamb Chop,
and her new mini Lamb Chop that Grandmom brought her.

My ankle and shin are black and blue and swollen from my fall.

The bridge in Titusville before the fog this morning.

The fog was starting to come in around 6 a.m.

My view of the clouds. I spent most of the day flat on my back.

There's a pretty park across the street from the marina
with lots of shore birds walking around.

Jazzy and Abby...the one on the right is Abby.
They look so much alike!

New Mooring Field in Titusville, FL

Wednesday, Nov. 6:

We left Daytona with winds and a few showers. We radioed the fuel dock and an attendant held out a long net to drop the bathhouse keys in. Never saw anyone do that before!

We went through the George Munson Coronado Beach Highway Bridge, through Sheephead Cut, down Mosquito Lagoon into Haulover Canal, Indian River, through the Max Brewer RR bridge and were heading to Titusville, near NASA.

We planned to anchor, but they put in a new mooring field, so we went in for fuel and took mooring #4.

Chuck played the keyboard for me, while I laid on ice for my back. It hurts to sit, so I don’t sit for very long. He played all old show tunes and sing-a-long songs he played for the local Kiwanis Club when he was a teen. My pop-pop used to enjoy those sing-a-longs at his Kiwanis Club meetings. I’ve often wondered if Chuck played for him when he was a kid!

When we got the mooring, Chuck spun the wheel and realized it was squeaking. He took off the floor panel and sprayed it all with WD-40. It was still squeaking, so he climbed into the aft cabin and took off the cover to get to the other side and found the problem. Nylon on nylon needed a little lubrication. Oh, the joys of boating!

Tomorrow: Melbourne, FL

We've seen LOTS of shorebirds along the way.

Mooring #4 in Titusville.

The TItusville Bridge.

Looking for the squeak

Found it!

The bridge is pretty at night.