Weather, whether...

Whether you are a snowbird from somewhere up north or to the east, or you are a native of the Sunshine State, the weather is all the talk around here.  The artic front that has created a wintery blast throughout most of the US, has actually pushed as far south as the Florida Keys.  The wind has been out of the north for a day and a half, and it is significantly cooler.  I'm in my jeans, sweatshirt and flip flops as I write this. It's about 63 degrees, and it's nearly 11 o'clock at night.  I'm thinking I need to drag out another blanket for the bed tonight.

Before you all go hating on me, I realize you are living with this at the moment:

So, you got me- it sucks to be you right now.  But down here, we had this today:

Because the wind has cranked out of the north, it was a bumpy, restless night aboard Marquesa.  We no longer have Biddi and the Beast and her wide body in front of us.  They moved over to Black Fin Resort where Danny works.  So we have nothing but the wide open Gulf of Mexico in front of us.  That means white caps, and sleeping in the Vberth is like laying down on a bucking bronco.  I have felt about half drunk all day as the boat is in constant motion.  When we took our showers this evening,  Cap'n said he closed his eyes and nearly fell through the shower curtain!  I did the same in my shower but knocked into the wall :/  I know, it's small potatoes compared to dealing with sub zero temperatures. It's funny though, even though the high today was 73, the wind chill took it back down into the sixties.  I was a Kmart earlier this afternoon and couldn't count all the people I saw wearing their winter coats.  I even saw a woman in snow boots- really?!  If it's any consolation, while I was doing a power shopping trip in Winn Dixie today, my fingers went numb in the cheese and lunchmeat aisle, and stayed that way for over an hour.  I was wishing I had my mittens with me. Not even joking.

So, we've been here five days already, and I only just managed today to get groceries to stock the galley.  It's kind of a love/hate task for me.  I hated spending $232, and I hated hauling it all from the car to the cockpit to down below- over 15 sacks in all.  But I LOVED getting everything all organized and stowed away.  It's a game for me- how much food and stuff can I squirrel away with only limited storage space?!  It took me nearly two hours as I opened boxes, transferred stuff to Ziploc baggies (the humidity is killer), wrote on labels with my trusty sharpie, divided the meats into portions for two and stowed them in freezer baggies, and cleaned and cut all the fresh fruits and vegetables to also store in- wait for it- baggies!  If anybody needs a Ziploc baggie, I have snack size, sandwich size, quart size- freezer and regular, gallon size, and 2 1/2 gallon size.  They all get used and recycled, and I have a purpose for them all!  The OCPD in me is exploding with happiness right now!

There's a certain order this all gets packed into the refrigerator, too.  Cap'n
doesn't dare get into the fridge, as he will mess up my system for
storage simply by trying to get a bottle of water!

My dry storage locker is not even half full.  Everything
gets labeled, including the excess canned goods, as
I have to all but stand on my head to get to the bottom
of it!  My extra large serving dishes and chopper
are also stowed down here.

What added to my bliss was getting rid of all the boxes and
trash after cleaning, sorting and stowing our goodies :)
It really does NOT take much to make me happy, lol.

While I was in a cleaning frenzy down below, Cap'n ran some errands for me.  He also changed the lightbulb in the head, and scrubbed the topsides of Marquesa.  She is shining and sparkling beautifully :)  A boat, cleaned inside and out, makes my heart overflow <3

Tonight we got together with Kenny and Fran and Mamaw and Paps for
Friday night pizza and a game of chicken foot.  Paps had us so beat that
we didn't even play the last three hands- not even kidding.

While we played chicken foot, I did a load of laundry.  As I was cleaning,
refolding and organizing our clothes (I know, I'm out of control) Willis
decided he wanted to help me.  He's such a good helper.

I'm not sure what tomorrow will bring.  The forecast is still chilly with a cold north wind continuing.  If it's sunny, I may try to duck out of the wind by the pool with a good book.  At any rate, I've got to wrap it up for tonight; I have cold fingers and toes!  I need to get back to the cozy boat- and find another blanket.  I pray y'all up north are safe in the coming days.  It sounds like it is going to be dangerously snowy and cold- you can have it.