We had someone else listen to the engine and he agrees with Matt and the mechanic. There is something going on – it may be that the prop jammed and twisted when the old engine violently cut off last month. So … there is a diver coming tomorrow morning to look at it. Matt spoke to the realtor and there is no issue with us staying longer. I was ready and willing to move back onto the boat but perhaps Matt put it best, “I don’t want to move onto the boat until we’re ready to go. It’s too much like camping in the winter.” “Yes,” I said. “But without the campfire and marshmallows.” Therefore, we are celebrating New Year’s Eve in comfort and warmth!

No, we did not have guests over to dinner. We had guests in our dinner. I’m prepping food in the galley (which has rather dim light). I pour a cup of rice into boiling water and begin stirring it. That’s odd, I think. I don’t remember putting spices in yet. I look more closely at all the floating brown flecks. I then look into the container of rice and see hundreds of bugs scrambling around. Weevils. I’ve never seen them before but I’ve read about them and how they can be a problem in dry goods on boats. Bay leaves supposedly deter them but I never bothered to put any in the container. I show them to Matt. “They’re a source of protein,” I say to the man who once ate taco crickets. He gives me a look, takes the pot and dumps it overboard. The boys take the offending container to land and dispose of the rice and its inhabitants. I open a fresh bag of rice. It’s just rice. That’s nice.    Continue reading →