colder than whiz these days

Welp, those Canadian clippers that have pounded the Midwest with more snow, wind, and falling temperatures has been sitting over the Keys for days.  It's been pretty miserable- not gonna lie.  I posted a brief video on Facebook, but that was not when the wind was at its worst. The night before last it blew a steady 25-30 knts all night long; some gusts were clocked over 40. There were times even the mast was vibrating.  On that particular night, I didn't fall asleep until 5:30am.  We were bouncing up and down and off the dock, and had been at it for hours.  I could not fall asleep for the life of me.  By about 4:00am, I got up to check the lines outside, and to get a breath of fresh air.  I was feeling the hot spit and was on the verge of getting seasick- TIED TO THE FREAKIN' DOCK!  Cap'n, on the other hand, slept like a baby.

When I peeped my eyes open at about 8:30am, Willis had his nose buried under my covers.
He was also trying to sleep off the seasickness.  He had been up and down with me all
night long.  I've got to hand it to the boy, though.  He is smart.  He knew better than to
lay up in the Vberth with us overnight, as the bouncing was the worst up there. 
He was down on the floor in the salon, praying for daylight and for the wind to lay down.

This picture doesn't do the wind and the waves justice.  We had some 2 footers
rolling under us.  The Gulf was nothing but white caps.  Man, do I miss Danny
and his big a** boat in front of us.  He blocked the northern wind and waves.

On Wednesday, Donnie went with Kenny to pick his boat up from the
shop and they decided to do some fishing on their way back to Vaca
Cut.  They also got beat up in the wind and waves.  They even got
rained on, but they came home with three porgies and a nice size
grunt for the freezer.

I did NOT pedal, pedal, pedal my new clown bike to the grocery on
Wednesday like I intended.  The wind was still blowing 25-30, straight
out of the north, and it was cold.  The temp said 61, but it felt like the
40's.  By the time I got the groceries from the car to the boat, I had fingers out.
It's ridiculous that I should need my mittens in the Florida Keys!

I was in the mood to cook Wednesday night, in spite of the rocking
and rolling boat.  Besides, it helped to heat the salon up!  (We caved
in last night and turned the furnace back on.)  I made braised
pork chops with sage, sweet onion and apples, wild rice and
salad.  A hot meal hit the spot!  Last night we had black beans, sausage
and rice with hominy.  Cap'n never has to worry where his next meal
is coming from- at home or on Marquesa.  His First Mate likes to cook :)

This morning, it was still ridiculously cold, but the wind turned a little to the
N/NE.   This means we don't have nearly the wave action aiming straight
into the bow of Marquesa and the marina.  You can tell Willis was
sleeping more peacefully this morning.  Dern cat; I love him.

Since today was another cold, windy, crappy day, I decided to take Mamaw
up to Islamorada for a shopping trip- they have a BIG Dollar Tree up there.
We got a hold of Bob and Marcia Pavey to see if they were going to be
home so that Cap'n (aka Mr. Fix It) could install the ceiling fan that
they bought last week when they were down here at Marathon. 

It worked out perfectly.  We shopped to our heart's
content and by the time we got back- tah-dah!
Nice job, Cap'n :)
Marcia then treated us all to a bowl of chili for lunch.
That hit the spot because sadly, it has been chili kind
of weather here for the past three days down here.

Here shortly, we are leaving to go back to Mamaw and Paps for Friday Night Pizza Night.  Kenny and Fran are joining us for a mean game of chickenfoot.  Maybe tonight we'll have to relinquish the bird.  Tomorrow is the Big Pine Nautical Flea Market that comes but once a year.  Donnie and I made out our shopping list of boat and fishing-related items that we are on the hunt for.  If it hasn't warmed up any more by tomorrow morning, I will not be riding the Blue Piglet all the way to Big Pine Key- mittens or not!

Yes, I know for all of my pissing and moaning about the weather down here, it's at least 40-50 degrees warmer than what you have back home.  I do realize, I am incredibly blessed.  I wouldn't trade the boating life for much of anything.  G'nite, y'all :)