Fluid Plans

Everybody knows in the boating world that boating plans are fluid plans, they are like words written on sand only to be washed away by the waves. What is supposed take two months takes four months instead. You get the picture. Our parts from France did not arrive yet and this is a very common occurrence, to wait for parts. It started to get cold in the boat yard, and therefore Chris was not able to do the job that required the right temperature. Mainly, Chris was inspecting water tanks and found a crack in one of them, to fix this is few weeks of work. Most of our equipment for the boat arrived. Life raft, huge anchore, and other loads of electronics, It takes time to put everything together and prepare the boat to be ocean worthy, safe and full time livable, especially when we can’t outsource the work because it is very expensive. We had to change out pods to room controlled and everything that we own had to be moved from one pod to another, it is exhausting work to move boxes all day, again! You can see some photos below. We went through the list of things to do, and we did not find it surprising that we will need at least two or three more months to complete the projects, at least the most important once. We decided to get a brake from the boat work, wait through the winter and travel instead. Plans changed in an instant, as if though something was telling us that it was the right thing to do. Plans changed, and we are going to travel through Europe for three months, visiting cool places, relatives and skiing in the Alps, December to March. It is extremely important to prepare the boat to a certain standard, it is something one can never rush, when safety is involved. nomads learn to be flexible, versatile, open to new opportunities, this allows for the new adventures, letting life takes its course, and letting synchronicities happen, and living life the way it was meant for all of us. Because we delayed our cruising trip, so many other amazing things happened to us and my art world. As it stands now, we plan to finish the boat in the spring and then cruise the eastern coast until it will be time to leave to the islands. Booking air plain tickets, renting cars, dealing with health insurance, finding places to stay in Europe, is a full time job. Every member of our family chose a place to visit. Next season we hope to get to Europe by boat and live there for a longer period of time. 

I have been finishing my painting schedule, wrapping up art classes, completing all my commissions, and filling galleries with art to last for the next three months. I have painted so much that I can use a brake, and get fresh look at the canvas after our trip. 

Oriental was an amazing place to stay, but it is time to move on and see other places. It is a small, cozy town where one can still feel community life, where the entire “small” town is the kids playground in which the residents take care of each other. Just when you think a place is beautiful, it gets more beautiful somewhere else. I look forward to the next few months, traveling and seeing where life will take us. 

 Gwendolina having school brake

 Moving boxes day! Have enough of that!

 Friend made the most amazing lemon cake ever.

 Peter riding on his skate board around town with his friend.

 Big and heavy duty enchore.

 Life raft, hopefully we won't have to ever use it!

 Beach inspired comission.

 More moving

 More moving, Peter is amazing help!

 Sunset after storm.

 Sunset inpiration

Making weird faces day!

Gwendolina watching pinky while we move boxes! 

Reinventing myself

Living here in Oriental or having different life style has given me and my family an opportunity to reinvent ourselves. Three years ago this life began with a dream, also three years ago I said that I will never teach art and that I will never paint abstract.  Al I have to say is that: today, makes who you are tomorrow, so use today wisely. I love teaching art, students arrived. My client in town ordered some abstracts and she pushed me and took me out of my comfort zone, with amazing results. My friend Bonnie said, a good abstract is hard to paint and I agree. It takes life experience, and incredible conscience. Hopefully I do a good job for my clients, and they trust me enough to let me fill thier home with my art. Chris continues to work on the boat, there is never enough time in the day to do everything on the list. We had to extend our rent till end of November. Life raft came, we are trying to order solar panels, install arch on the boat, still waiting on some parts from France to finish rigging, and on and on. After November we plan to finally move the the boat, out new home and spend Christmas in the Bahamas. Oriental is beautiful and fun but more beautiful and fun things are waiting. Lots of boats are passing by through Oriental already making their way slowly South to the Islands. We meet many couples from all over the world telling cruising stories, everyone we meet is 

Extremely warm and inviting. Our children have blossomed, I posted them studying at the dining room table. Can't wait to show them more of the world.

Big Family Trip (to Target)

it has been a month since our move and our new life. We came to live in a very little but beautiful town on the coast, while the boat is being worked on. This is definitely the best and most wise decision we could have made. Our life has changed in million ways, from having better relationship with my husband and children, spending more time with each other, more laughter, wine, and spending time with friends travelers, meeting locals and developing connections with them. All would give their heart out to help and be there if you needed anything. At first it felt like a vacation, because that was all there was for so many years, until now. Finally now, the past had been let go. 

The nearest fast food is 30 mil away, thankfully because it is too far to go, and we shop in one small grocery store called Town and Country. Out eating habits changed, we no longer feel like rewarding ourselves with junk after a stressful and hard day after work. We ride bicycles everywhere. I have been in the car once since we arrived here. After a month we decided to take a long trip about 40 minutes drive to Target because we all needed underwear. We were so glad to be back in our town, kids got tired and the excitement of being in target was just not there. We have tradition to ride to the best spot in town to see sunset every evening. I have started my art classes and that is our  income for groceries. Our costs and spending have decreased drastically. We keep it simple at a minimum, and we get only what we need. Children have blossomed, play with their new friends, and the whole town is their playground. I can't wait to get to the islands and expend our experiences with nature and people even more. I am posting photos of  scenes that surround us every day.

I already know that I regret nothing about our decision, and I don't miss my life in third dimension.

Operation Liquidation Liberation

On the photos: Last two weeks in my house I have been cooking on this camping fire burner because the stove broke.    

Skiing gear was shipped overseas, beautiful art gifts from my friends, preparing home schooling material for elementary and highschooler.

                     

                   
                                

I have painted 10 commissions in the    last two months, while packing. 

Two and a half years ago we moved from our 3600sq feet home to a rental home that was half the size, in preparation for our journey. We down sized significantly but little did I know that moving out from the rental house was utterly exhausting because apparently we did not down sized enough. We have officially entered the post materialistic world. It was easier then I thought yet a lot of emotions involved. This is a big week for our family as we approached the time where both myself and Chris have left our jobs, released attachments of all kinds, and began our journey. At first we thought we will take a lot with us to sort later when it will be time to pack the boat, and as things started to pile up in the truck quickly, it got overwhelming just as fast. And I don’t say it lightly, For three days we were sorting and packing that truck, with emotion running like wild. I will talk about children later. We send our skiing gear overseas. Then, We drove the truck to boat yard and with our friend’s help we unloaded almost everything to a pod. The job was finished after midnight. By the end of the night I had blister on my feet, I could not move my leg, it was hot and the pod was half the size then we expected. By midnight we had no problem down sizing even more as we just wanted to shower and go sleep. It is amazing what you can do when lack of sleep is involved! After this ordeal we went to sleep, and in the morning we switched gears and started driving to Canada to visit my parents, we made it in 15 hours straight, and got there around midnight. What happened next was, sleep, for many hours.

This was a quick recap of last weeks events. I should mention that my friends have surprised me with best wishes and goodbyes. I have gotten breathtaking art pieces from my friends that I can fit on our boat. Those moments were bittersweet, but we have to keep focus on the present tasks and our goals. I had to keep reminding myself what those goals are. First time in ten years I am not employed. Nursing like many jobs will burn you out, you carry stress even subconsciously and I did not realize how stressed I was until I stopped working, And YES! moving was hard, changing our life is challenging,with happy emotions, but at the end of the day I stretched myself on the grass by the water, the stars were bright, with blisters on my feet, exhausted and I thought to myself, it was all worth it. And it is just the beginning. 

The fact that we are left with nothing but opportunities, and free of baggage fascinates me. We are truly painting our lives now. This is called living in the present. I have been practicing that notion a lot, because when I paint I am completely in the present moment where time truly stops. I have been painting a lot in the past two months as well, definitely under some pressure, and time constrain, still with pleasure and escape. Now, We take time to admire clouds and stars, and not just once in a while but everyday, and we notice life. Day to day rat race did not allow us to do so. This change was not something that we came up with recently, it was maturing in us as a couple and as individuals for many years, and preparations took just as long. When time came to leave our jobs, it seemed surreal, our plans started to come together as if though there was no other way anymore. Truly there is no going back, for many,many reasons or I should say, frustrations. Challenges come with it as well. In retrospect I think that it was inevitable that we would move closer to ocean at some point, with Chris’s ongoing yacht projects and my art and gallery projects on the coast as well. Our life on the coast has bloomed with friends and community  in big part it has to do with our passionate interests and love for the ocean. 

Our children have been hearing about our preparations for years, when we sold our house, they were troopers and they adjusted to the new house very quickly. We moved to an old character home in wonderful community among huge trees with a big swing on a branch. Two years past and it was time for them to give up their beds, toys and pretty much everything else.  While some things went to my mom for storage. They were helping in moving picking, lifting, transporting, going to sleep very late on many occasions and spending countless hours in car rides to coast and back. Over all they were extremely patient, versatile and ready. Most of all they are very happy children and look forward to experiencing the world, non the less they will have to do some serious adjustments to their habits, and it will be hard too. I asked them of one thing, to trust their parents!!! 

I read  blogs of people who travel and what I can’t take is people who only write how wonderful and perfect their journeys are, and it seems so boring and almost unrealistic. In my blog you will find the good, the bed, and everything in between. Here