Two If By Sail

This is today's project. Using a 30% vinegar solution to dissolve the hard shells then scrap it
off…its quite a smell…lol

We have been remiss in posting. We've been bogged down in the grind of daily life as we work our way back to our dream. However, our silence is not an indication of lack of news... Last Tuesday, Brett had full hip replacement surgery. Surgery went very well. He is currently rehabbing with lots of PT daily. And he's doing it without any pain medication - Tylenol only! The surgeon forbade him to get back on the boat for 30 days. That has proved to be quite the challenge with our lifestyle. We had a discharge plan (or thought we did) until the day after surgery when the VA hospital advised our plan didn't work for them. We spent the following days working with the VA to line up a plan they were onboard with. Yay!

I would be completely remiss if we did not give a HUGE thank you to the Fisher House Foundation. They provide an amazing service to veterans and their families. They made it possible for me to stay on the VA hospital property instead of driving back and forth between Stuart and West Palm Beach every day. Thank you FHF, Shelley and her team for your compassion and care.

Just as it felt like things were falling into place, I was in a car accident on my way to work. Minor injuries, I'm good. But this giant Dodge Ram truck decided to change lanes at a stop light. He threw that puppy into reverse and drove his trailer hitch straight into the bumper and radiator. If you don't know the story of our car, it's almost 20 years old with over 300,000 miles on it. We were gifted it a year ago by some amazing friends. It has been a true God send. It's what has made it possible to get us back and forth to the VA for all of Brett's appointments. Needless to say, the at fault driver's insurance company is calling it a total. So... if you're in the Stuart, FL, area and know of anyone selling an ugly, cheap car that runs reliably, PLEASE let me know!

Right now I'm leaning into the saying, "If he leads you to it, he'll lead you through it!" Prayers are always welcome.

Spent some time at the beach and this happened…

Finally progress. After a year of dealing with poor solar performance, not finding any single problems it became obvious we were dealing w/a death from a thousand cuts. This required me to spend hours pulling terminals and simply cleaning them. In a few instances there were deteriorated wiring , it’s a wonder we had any power in out at all, which required cutting back wires until they didn’t show any of the corrosion. We have approx 540 watts of solar and seem to be producing well…this pic of our battery monitor was on a cloudy day and is now producing well.

You’re tryin to sleep and someone turns on the lights…

Sometimes we’re reminded of why we’re here.

Another ho-hum Florida sunset… ☺️

What are these silly things I’ve posted you ask? LIGHTS! We have functioning lights & fans aboard Kanaloa.

Life, it’s a whirlwind… When we first arrived in Stuart I was filling my days playing mahjong, going to ladies’ lunches, and taking yoga classes. What a fun and wonderful time I was having.

As most of you know, I’ve been looking for some kind of job for quite a while. Apparently, retired women over 50 aren’t super desirable in today’s workforce. Well, last week someone decided to open the flood gate! I received 2 jobs on the same day.

Monday I started a remote temp job. I’m scoring vocal responses to standardized testing for ESL students. It’s a 5 week contract. It was supposed to be M-F for a total of 35 hours a week. It’s turning into M-Sat for a total of 50 hours a week. I’ve also been hired as a tram driver for the city of Stuart. This job will start 1 day after my current job ends. Talk about hitting the ground running!

Brett continues his work in online psychotherapy. And he’s in charge of getting the electrical situation on the boat squared away. We haven’t had an electricity onboard since December. We are on our 3rd contractor before someone followed through on the job.

On a side note… I’m still managing yoga classes 5 days a week. As we (Brett is going to some yoga classes too) were standing outside this morning, waiting for class to start, we witnessed this. The driver was an 80-something gray hair who mistook the gas pedal for the brake. God was watching over the ladies inside the salon. There were just a few feet between everyone walking away ok (praise God) to the alternative that could have happened.

Life is not dull or boring for the Smiths!

(And here’s another amazing sunset pic for good measure. ) - Jan

We can’t believe there are 400 interested in our story! Thank you for your continuing support. We couldn’t have made it without each one of you. 🙏🤗🎉