Hum-drum Summer days

So here we sit, at the end of the pier. These are the days in-between great sea adventures, or cross country excursions, just waiting, and waiting for hurricane season to pass. The temperature outside is uncomfortably hot, very hot. The air is saturated with water, so heavy you can taste it. It feels like you could use a snorkel. The profuse sweating burns my eyes whenever I take a walk down the pier. Surprisingly, the air conditioner on the boat boat does a fair job of keeping the things tolerable.

The forecasts always have a tropical depression or storm to keep an eye on, so we will stay put until the end of September. If things are calm enough by then, we will move eastward towards the Virgin Islands.

A typical weather report, that's not the sun or the moon, that's a hurricane!

Some days go by as though they never existed, we're not used to that. The marina is quiet...worse than that it's desolate! Some times I see less than 5 people in the course of a day. At dusk, an ancient tribe of vampire mosquitoes tries to suck me dry. While in the air they are almost impossible to swat, you have to wait for them to land. Their landings are unlike any that I have ever witnessed, once a spot has been cleared for landing they come in spear first, and drive it deep into your skin. Aw, but now they are stuck, this is the chance you've been waiting for, and you can kill them with a fingertip. The only problem is that the venom is already in, and you will itch for hours.  The deet-free repellent seems to attract the little humming monsters, no wonder we found it on "clearance". Working outside is difficult with the heat, I'm getting little done in the way of boat projects.
Marie keeps busy fighting the kids to get their school work done. It takes Hadrian about an hour to compose a sentence. You'd think it would be a heck of a sentence, but in fact it disappoints. Her negative reinforcement is limited to only shouting, and the kids seem to be somewhat vaccinated against the effects it. I advise her to hit more, scream less, she doesn't do it, but kids hate me for suggesting it. Eva says that neither her, nor her children will ever cuddle with me again, talk about drama. The dog is all curled up under the table, hardly any signs of life come from it, just a very slight swelling of the rib cage when she breaths. If you stomp your foot by her she'll open her eyes. That's as close to playing fetch as you're going to get from her.

Our dog just lays around all day.

Eva tries to cloud the issue of her stagnant school work by complaining about her life. She says that I ruined it by taking her on this trip, as if school would not be a problem if we were back home, yeah right.

Eva and Hadrian doing schoolwork.

Arts and crafts does not get the same resistance as say math, or English.

The Mirador is a lot more spacious than it's exterior would lead you to believe. We can quite comfortably spend the whole day inside. The neighbors sometimes wonder how we manage this, or so one of them confessed. You can find a private space to get away from most of the commotion of home schooling. I have mastered the art of shutting things out, almost to a fault.
Occasionally, I get a call from a friend to tell me how bad things back home are going. Attitudes in the work place are simply cutthroat in the aftermath of the recession, they tell me. I can't say I miss the old gerbil wheel. Porsche is really gonna have to work hard to sell me another car. Finances aside, I think I've grown too secure of myself.
Shopping for groceries is now the highlight of my day. I comb the aisles, and read the labels. You should see what they put in some of the stuff. I can spend three or four hours at the grocery store. I sometimes start to get followed. Walmart is a safe haven, all you need is crazier people around you to make you incognito.
This is a great time to come visit us. The airline tickets are as cheap as they get. Write as soon as possible, as space should be running out quickly as of the posting of this article.