lukey's boat is painted...

That song... it won't leave my brain. It started with the little Music Together class we take Naia to and this was the song she latched on to and sang and asked to hear over and over again. "Lukey's boat is painted green a-ha, me boys." Do you know it? No? Here have a listen to a far cooler version than the Music Together one courtesy of the fabulous Great Big Sea. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Don't worry, this is going somewhere. So we decided as a family to buy Lukey, I mean Zachie, his own little boat this year. We pondered the extraordinary cost of sailing camp and said for that much (or even less actually) we could get him his own boat and then he can sail any time he wants and not just at the camp. So a friend helped us score a sweet deal and here we have her.

She's a 9-foot Dyer Dhow and she's now part of our fleet. Catamaran, inflatable dinghy, kayak, and now sailing dinghy.

(this could be a mast, right mama?)

We haven't decided on a name yet. If I let him go with the first name that came out of his mouth the boat would have been named HMS Batman Lasagna. I told him that maybe we should take the next several weeks to write down the names that come to us, all of us in the family, and toss them in a jar, and... ya know... think about them. So the boat is yet unnamed.

However the color scheme is decided and in progress. We did some small repairs today, some fiberglass patches, and cleaning. Hopefully if the weather agrees we'll get the colors on this week. Yes, colors as in multiple. From the boy who requested a rainbow room, did you really think a plain white boat would do? No sir. Zachie's boat is painted... well... you'll see.

Now admit it, you want to hear the song again. And again. Welcome to my world.

~this moment~ under the stars

A Friday ritual (most weeks). A single photo capturing a moment from the week(ish). A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember. - via soulemama.

Swing Spot

This is his spot. He plays here. He thinks here. He snacks here. He spots the first muskrat of the season here. He reads here. He feeds the ducks from here. He pouts here. He watches an osprey build its nest from here. He draws here. He dreams here.

Without consciously seeking to create it, my boy has a sitspot. In outdoor education a sitspot is a critical piece of the puzzle when it comes to connecting to the natural world, but it's also a way of connecting to yourself. 

From the Coyote's Guide to Connection with Nature by John Young ~ "Find one place in our natural world that you visit all the time and get to know it as your best friend. Let this be a place where you learn to sit still - alone, often, and quietly - This will become your place of intimate connection with nature."
(You can read about it here and here too.)

Zach is learning about and using sitspots in his wilderness school each week, but forming one at home has been a long evolution and a totally unconscious one. It was a natural process all his own. I can see him needing that pause between busy parts of our day, scrambling up on deck and perching his in swing. Quite, sometimes still, sometimes in motion, but his core is quiet.

He chatters to himself, sings, giggles, and much of the time simply stared and stares and stares at the great big world around him. It's his sacred space.

~this moment~

A Friday ritual (most weeks). A single photo capturing a moment from the week(ish). A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember. - via soulemama.

what's going on

So here is a photo of the current state of our floor in the main salon.

(A thank you side note to my friend Mary for sending the unfinished pants with that amazing box of goodies. Looks, the pants are finished now! A true collaboration!)

I have been talking about the flooring in this boat since, well, since we first boat this boat with it's oh-so-lovely beige-o-rific faux animals print carpeting 7 1/2 years ago. The the already ugly carpet went through a geriatric dog (my dear, sweet Schooner who we love and miss so much) and a potty learning little boy and oh dear, now it's worse. We always looked up, forever up and ignoring its bland nastiness. And then there was the peeling, funky, veneers in the hulls. Blech! We went round and round on new flooring choices but budget and indecision held us back all this time. What we loved we couldn't afford and what we could afford we just didn't love. So we waited. Until now. The carpet is out. And the new flooring is being put in this very minute... well not this very minute. Right now it's raw fiberglass. But soon, very soon.

These curved dips in the floor and the verticals make standard teak & holly boat flooring a no go. We need something flexible (like carpet) that can move with the curves in the layout of the floor.

So while we wait for installation... I wanted to share some news from friends. First my pal Anni Daulter just launched a gorgeous and empowering new website called Sacred Pregnancy. While I don't consider myself sacred and hope never to be pregnant again, it's still a lovely resource and one I have been checking regularly. She is hosting fabulous give aways, posting mouth water recipes, and sharing wonderful parenting articles too. Drop into the Sacred Pregnancy Facebook page and give them a like. Check out the upcoming Sacred Pregnancy book. And stay tuned here in the coming week or so for a wonderful giveaway of Anni's other book which I can't seem to stop reading.

Also remember my pal Creighton who has generously given away his beautiful Honeypots here in the past? He is trying to kickstart a new program called the Honeypot Floatotshoot Tour.  He's using his beeswax art to draw attention to the importance of preserving and cleaning up America's watersheds. Check out his stunning photos and help if you can.

Phew... ok now back to the flooring.

Book Slings

I wanted to share a quick little project we tackled to help Zach organize his books. Like most kids, he loves staying up at night with a flashlight under the covers to read. However the end result is piles of books all over his wee bed and no place to, ya know, sleep.  I saw these book slings on Pinterest and fully intended to make some myself, but with my crazy work schedule and the fact that my new sewing machine is still sealed in the box I decided to work with someone on Etsy instead.

(The fabric is Echino Ni-Co Cars in red by Etsuko Furuya) 

The lady I worked with at Shop With Compassion was fabulous. I sent her my own fabric to use, and 100% of her profits go to support three children she's sponsoring in third world countries.

For boat living or any small space these book slings are ideal because they're light weight, fairly close to the wall, and super easy to install. All it takes, aside from the sewn sling, is 2 dowels and a double curtain rod hanger.

I think we'll be putting more of these up around the boat. We could certainly use one for our kindles in our cabin ;)

Capital Moments

Some moments from our sightseeing with family all around DC this week.

At the Supreme Court, the chief justice has arrived.

top of the Capitol dome from the inside

every image has a meaning... our guide explains the paintings inside the dome

Step aside ladies and gents, a more mature generation will be running things from now on @ the US Capital

inspirational quotations all over the place inside the Capitol

female heroes, only half of their bodies because the battle for women is only half done. if we're not careful they may just be hair by next year. ;)

your tax dollars... the underground tunnels leading around the capital so that staffers and congressfolk don't have to walk outside

the boy cousins storming the Supreme Court

feels like home

It feels like home here for me lately. My brother and his family are visiting from Chicago. In the 14+ years that we've lived here this is the first time they've come out. Crazy huh? Zach is coming out of his skin with excitement to show his cousins around.

It's meant we all get to play tourist right here in our own hometown. As we walked around on a perfect spring day I fell in love all over again with this place. Our town is quaint and historic and inviting and beautiful. We're really lucky to call this place home.

It was so sweet watching little Naia get to know her uncle and aunt and big cousins. She regarded them with regal indifference at first, but it didn't take long for her to warm up and easily float from one member of the family to another.

It's going to be a fun week, and hopefully it won't take them 14 years to come around again.