Love Odyssey

Yesterday we got up at five a.m. so we could get an early start to Ocracoke.  We knew lots of other boaters would want to make Ocracoke their destination and we wanted to be sure to secure a Park Service dock.  In past years we learned that these fill up quickly.  Although we could anchor out in Silver Lake, it is more convenient to tie up to the dock rather than have to jump into the dinghy each time we need to go to shore.  We left at 6:00 and motor sailed with jib and staysail up to give us the best speed.  We are not racers, but Bryce did race and pass several other sail boats on his quest for the “prize”.  At 11:30 we entered the harbor and had several docks from which to choose.  Hurray! We won the race!

I am still in a “boot” after my foot surgery 3 weeks ago, so I am not very helpful at getting the boat docked-or even moving around much on deck with all the lines and hardware—but there were some nice folks standing around the docks and they helped secure lines.  We made it!  The remainder of the day we just enjoyed being here.

- Helen 05/29/2011

Thursday I regained more freedom. Bryce took me back to the orthopedic surgeon for my post-surgery visit. They cut off my plaster cast, took out 42 stitches–ouch!, x-rayed my foot, and put me into a “boot”. Good-bye crutches and walker and hello freedom. The boot makes me shift my weight to my heel so the front part of my foot does not move and the bones can continue to heal. Wow! We celebrated my new-found freedom by going to the grocery store and then out to lunch. It was wonderful!

This weekend we found out that I can still negotiate the ladder on the transom of the boat so I can board our dinghy as usual. That means that for the long Memorial Day weekend we can take the boat out and anchor somewhere. No, I still can’t get my foot wet, but I really don’t miss swimming in the cold water this time of year. It looks like I may get the boot off around Independence Day–it will certainly be a good way to re-assert my independence!

Helen 05/22/11

I’m not a good patient–I hate having someone wait on me and I have no patience with my body when it cannot do what I want. So the first three days after my surgery when I was on total bedrest was very, very hard for me. Monday night my patience was wearing thin and I admit I was pretty bitchy with Bryce. Poor man, he was doing his best fixing supper and waiting on me. But I had my fill of this “bed rest” and wanted to get up and do for myself. So he got the brunt of my discontent.

By Tuesday morning I decided it was time to gradually reclaim my former life as much as possible. I started by hobbling out to the kitchen to fix my own breakfast. Then I loaded the dishwasher –my way–and proceded to wash a couple of loads of laundry. By noon I was tired and my foot was sore and swelling a bit, but I had a smile on my face and Bryce had a hot lunch fixed by me. That evening I decided to tackle the stairs–on my rump–so I could sleep in my own bed and not the guest room downstairs.   And so the week went as I gradually reclaimed my old life. Wednesday night Bryce hinted that I might be well enough to try the boat this weekend. We had originally planned to stay home another week until I got the cast off and a “boot” on. By Thursday morning I was itching to get down here to the coast even though ambulating around this boat and its many steps presented a big challenge. Well, we got here at 3:00 today and the steps were not that difficult to descend–on my rump. So here I am sitting in the pilothouse with this big grin on my face–I did it!

Helen 05/13/11

Last night I came home from the hospital. This was supposed to be an outpatient procedure but my intolerance to the pain meds (severe nausea) caused me to spend a night in hospital. So now I am home and surrounded by walker, crutches, and other invalid care equipment. Bryce is my nurse and Suzy is all over the bed giving me kisses-if only they could heal my foot!

It is really hard for me to relinquish all the household tasks and just sit in bed and be waited on. But I have no choice–so I will just make the best of it. I’ll continue the saga in the coming weeks.

Helen 05/08/11

I am really nervous tonight. Tomorrow morning I am having major surgery on my left foot to remove a bunion, stabilize a broken second toe, and make room for my other toes. I will be in a cast for two weeks and then in a “boot” for another six to eight weeks. So for eight to ten weeks I will not be able to bear any weight on my left foot. I tried out some crutches today and I nearly lost my balance. I have on order a “knee walker” that the doctor thought would be better for getting around the house. Did I say I am scared?! The pain is supposed to be pretty intense–I picked up my pain meds. from the pharmacy yesterday and spoke with the pharmacist–this is heavy-duty stuff.

But you know what is really bothering me? Being helpless and having to rely on Bryce to fix the meals, clean the house, and even help me bathe. I’m such an independent woman that it will be difficult to just sit back and wait for him to do my bidding. I won’t be able to do steps at all except to bump up and down on my bottom–and of course our bedroom is upstairs. Then there is the bit about driving and working–that is also a big question mark. We will have to see how it goes. And of course getting on and off the boat and getting down into the cabin of the boat will also be a challenge. So I am very nervous tonight. I’ll keep you posted….

Helen 05/05/11

This weekend we took the boat to Beaufort. Yesterday we had gusty conditions and Bryce tried to anchor the boat in Taylor’s Creek. Another sailor kept yelling to him to pick up a mooring. We have never used a mooring ball and Bryce did not know how to do this. The other sailor finally rowed his dinghy over and showed him how to pick up the line and tie it to our boat. He explained that there were lots of storms around and when the tide and wind are opposing, different boats can point in different directions, potentially hitting each other. So we took the mooring of someone who is in the islands and paid for it with 3 bottles of beer and three bottles of ginger beer.

Today we took  Suzy to Bird Shoal Island which is across from the Front St. and where wild ponies wander freely. We did not see any ponies but Suzy did get up close and personal with a fiddler crab–and had her nose pinched. I don’t think she will ever get close to anything ressembling this again!

This evening while we were eating dinner in the cockpit a small cruise ship came into port. We have put the photo on for you to see.

Helen 04/23/11

Every Monday night for the past six weeks we have been taking Suzy to Puppy Kindergarten at Petsmart. We have been learning how to train her in basic obedience such as “sit”, “stay” and “come”. This has not been easy for Suzy or me. She seems to have the attention span of a fly and barks anytime she hears another dog or an unusual noise. We practiced our “homework” every day. Some days were better than others. She learned “sit” and “spin” very quickly, but “down” (lying completely flat on the floor) was impossible for her to learn. I tried all kinds of treats, but it always seemed she was a born see-saw; if the head was down on the mat, the rear was up and vice versa. A week ago one of the more experienced trainers was finally able to get her completely down, but it took quite a bit of patience and many tasty treats. Of course when I tried the same techniques at home, Suzy just reverted back to her see-saw. Last night was “graduation” and I really thought Suzy would flunk the final test and be asked to repeat “kindergarten”. But our trainer was able to get Suzy down flat and I was able to duplicate the result several times last night–success!! Yes, we made it! And my little miss graduated!!

Now we are going to try graduate puppy training. We have signed up for another six weeks. I have confidence Suzy can learn if the treat is tasty enough! My hope is to get her eventually certified as a Therapy Dog since she goes to work with me every day and interacts with the little people who come into my speech therapy practice.

Helen 04/19/11

This weekend our marina was the site for the annual Oriental Rotary-sponsored boat show. We are surrounded with boats new and used for sale as well as tents selling everything imaginable for life on the water. In addition there is a steady stream of speakers giving talks about various aspects of boating such as boat maintenance , ropes and lines, and fishing. We can sit here on our boat and see all the action surrounding us. But for me the most fun has been to take Suzy for a walk and have all the ladies oohing and aahing over her! She sure is a hit wherever we go!

Yesterday Bryce and I boarded some of the older boats that were for sale. It was fun to see how other boats are configured–and to go away feeling like we have the best boat for our us.

The weather has been very, very windy all weekend. Last year some of the vendor tents blew down under similar circumstances. We noticed this year that vendor tents have longer pegs and they are better prepared for the conditions. Still, a strong weather system is being predicted for this evening–we hope everything is going to survive the conditions. Right now we are having gusts of 25 to 30 miles per hour–very, very blowy!

Helen– 04/16/11

Oriental is such an unusual small town. With only 900 perrmanent residents you would think that it is snoozeville–not so! There is always something to see or do every weekend. There are concerts, plays, old movies from our youth, foot races and of course sailing regattas and fishing tournaments. This weekend the town is hosting 900 cyclists who are discovering the flat roadways around this pretty county.

Since there are not enough rooms for rent for this number of cyclists, a tent city of sorts has been erected for them by the river. Bryce and I took a walk around the area and brought back these photos. Stay tuned–next weekend is the boat show in our marina and I promise to have more photos. Yes, Oriental is a happening place! Come on down and see what you have been missing!

Helen -4/09/11

The town of Oriental has many unique features and the annual Dog Parade is one of them. Today was the sixth annual parade of canines. There are prizes or ribbons given for categories such as “Cutest” and “Most Patriotic”. I think I have entered each parade with our Yorkies; we have never won but always had fun.

This year we decided to be the Yorkie family from Yorkshire. Of course Suzy, our six month old Yorkie, was the star performer. She went as our baby. Bryce and I were the parent dogs. I have included our picture. You can see more of the parade on www.towndock.net.

Helen 04/02/11