Saving (and spending)- what a day!

Matt and Karie stayed with us last night, and we all had a good time getting caught up with each other.  This morning I fixed omelets and a fresh fruit salad for breakfast.  Karie went and did laundry, while I cleaned up the galley and the boys tackled the dinghy engine...it also wants to quit on us :(  Last evening, Brett suggested that we likely have a hole in the diaphragm.  After isolating other potential problems, guess what?  We have a hole in the diaphragm!  Matt also was super helpful in showing me a website to get quality sailing hardware at less than half the cost of Schaeffer or Harken.  I ordered two specialty blocks for our jib sheets...they would have been $151.50 each at one of the other suppliers, but through Garhauermarine.com, I got two of them for only $120 and free shipping!  I'm so excited to finally save a buck!  Thank-you, Matt!  Believe it or not, I think this took us up to a phone call from Luis.  Bessie was getting fired up, and they asked us to come have a listen to her :)

It may not sound like much to y'all, but she's purring like a kitten, and that's music to our ears!!

L to R is Matt, Joel (the technician) Luis (the owner) and Cap'n Donnie.

Isn't she pretty?!  She was painted gold which is standard for a Universal block.  Hopefully, when we get the final bill she was only spray painted and not gold plated!  It doesn't matter, she's new, she sparkles, and I love her :)

My and my bestest boating buds...Karie and Biddi

We had a visitor while we all ate lunch at Paradise Pointe.  I layed out all the fixin's for chef salads with french bread, and everybody made their own.  We had a delicious cantaloupe, too.

Soon after, Bessie got delivered.  It was quite the group effort getting her back in the engine compartment.  We have great friends here at Banana Bay, and their willingness to pitch in and help saved us another $400 by doing it ourselves.

Before all of the excitement began, I went down below to grab my camera, and snapped this pic of Willis.  He was giving me the stink eye because I woke him up from his morning/afternoon nap.  He needs to get over himself sometimes.

Mike (from Footloose) rigged up his electric winch again on the piling.   We had to move Marquesa back about nine feet on the dock, and attach another line across the port side of the boat to control the boom.  Again, the new mainsail was peeled back, we added some extra padding around the teak and deck winch, unzipped the bimini and folded down the dodger, and used the main halyard to strengthen the boom to support the 425# Bessie.  Whoever said that two heads are better than one was right.  Four collective heads offering their ideas and suggestions was even better still.  We cracked the teak on the companionway and also scratched the fiberglass in the cockpit when we took her out the first time; we're hoping for a better performance today.

She's off the dock and going up! 

It was a MAJOR group effort....Many, many thanks to Mike (Footloose) on the winch, Ray (from Fish n' Fun Boat Rentals), Matt (Plan Sea), Steve (Yesterday's Dream) Danny (Biddi and the Beast), and Paps.

IT WAS QUITE THE ORDEAL!

There were all kinds of high-fives, hand shakes, and back slappings going on afterwards!

In all of that commotion, Sassafras decided to wake up and see what all the fuss was about.  It cracks me up how he walks up the ladder, he uses his elbows!  He did not like all these peeps in his space- he made a beeline for the mangroves.  Dern cat.

We celebrated the afternoon with a game of dominoes.  Biddi beat Mamaw by just six points.  She won the rubber chicken!

Despite our rowdy game of chickenfoot, there was a beached manatee and a pelican that slept right through it all!  We love you, Danny boy!

There must have been some kind of fly in at the airport today, because two old bomber jets passed over head.

Late in the day I went to wash the car, and passed the airport. I stopped for a closer look. See the gunnery seat in the back?

This was the one I photographed in the sky earlier. What kind is it?

Can you imagine the skies filled with these planes during WWII with bullets and bombs raining down?

Does anybody know what type of bombers these are?  I tried to read the inscription on the side of this one...

I made another grocery run, then hurried home to make a chicken stir fry.  We had a date with Dan and Biddi at 7:00pm to go see the Doerfel's playing at Salty's by the Seven Mile Bridge.  It is a band of 10 homeschooled kids-all the same family.  There's nine boys and one girl, though only five of them were playing tonight.  They are ridiculously talented.  They not only cover classic rock, jazz, current bands, but bluegrass and gospel, too.  Their talent is unbelievable.

The kid on lead guitar is only 17, and he's been playing for just seven years. Ridiculous.

How about this homemade guitar with a hockey stick?!

...and if you like some bluegrass music...at one point they all played with their instruments over their heads and facing backwards, even the bass fiddle- it was crazy!  You really should check these kids out.  The banjo player is the oldest, at 24, and the youngest is 7 who sang Pink Floyd!  Go to their website, www.thedoerfels.com, check them out on You Tube, or 'like' them on Facebook- there are links to free downloads, too.  You won't be sorry you did :)

Welp, the boys are passed out beside me.  It's been a long full day today, and I have another long, full day tomorrow, too.  Biddi is riding with me for a power shopping trip in Homestead, before we pick up Mom and Emily from the Miami airport.  I can't wait to see them- I hope I can sleep tonight.  I think I'll join the boys now.  G'nite y'all!