This past week has felt as though we started to settle into a new routine. We managed to get our apartment into a state where most things are unpacked, and we are able to sleep, cook and work there. Bonus, I also found some floor space to setup my exercise mat and weights. I squeezed in my first workout in a while, and boy did it feel nice.
We greatly overestimated the size of our apartment (or the amount of downsizing that we did before the move). Either way , we simply have too much stuff. It’s not entirely surprising, moving belongings from a house, shed and garage into a one bedroom apartment. We’ve put many boxes into storage in our building’s basement, but there’s still a stack in each corner. We will likely donate a few more items so that we can have a livable apartment. Honestly, there’s tons of stuff we don’t really need, so downsizing and simplifying is not a bad thing at all.
This week we settled back into the work from home grind. It’s actually quite nice to be able to WFH, as it means no commute and the ability to take the dog for a quick walk, or pickup some pastries from the European bakery down the block pretty much anytime during the day.
I took full advantage of working remotely on Thursday, when we went for another training cruise. This time, I sat in the salon with my laptop and held client meetings over Zoom while Matt practiced his docking and maneuvering skills. I have to say again how absolutely amazing Matt is at handling our 40 foot ballerina. He very confidently docked (parked) in our marina slip not once, but twice, and earned a massive fist bump from our captain. I’m in absolute awe of the things that Matt can do. Where I would get frustrated, he keeps a cool head. I’m very very proud.
Otherwise, the week was fairly uneventful. One important purchase was a pair of Mustang Survival PFDs (personal flotation devices) to be worn when we are on the dock or out on deck. There are some incredibly sad stories of people who have fallen off the dock and would have been saved by having some kind of life vest, so best safe than sorry. These are not the average bulky life vests either, they’re quite lightweight and comfortable, and automatically inflate when submerged in water. Hopefully we never need them, but it feels nice to know they’re there.
Some miscellaneous boat maintenance was also undertaken – new fire extinguishers installed, new cabinet handles arrived and one installed (they fit!), the rest to be done soon, and Matt has been working on installing sensors and cameras on the boat, so we can remotely monitor temperature, humidity and motion aboard Eudora, even when we’re not here.
We have no planned cruises coming up, but will be meeting with another training skipper in the next few weeks to schedule more time on the water. In the mean time, lots of tinkering and boat improvement projects to keep us busy, and keep Eudora looking good!