With a very heavy heart

I am sorry that I have not posted anything to blog in 2 years, I will try to be better about posting, This past year has taken a heavy toll on me .On Jan.3rd of 2013 lost my Mom the night before my birthday, yes it just sucked the life out of Jan. then my sister was told she had bone cancer, I just could not wrap my head that. during the same time all of this was going I lost some family members, it was a very trying time, fast forward to July 26 I retired completely and at that time Pam and I decide to move our home port to New Bern, NC. so on Aug5th at 0700 we cast the lines off at Wilmington's marina Sawmill Point, head towards New Bern, it was a 2 day trip up the ICW, the first night we stopped in Snead's Ferry at Swan Point, nice,and it was just awesome coming up the waterway and after a couple of snags like running aground to the port transmission being low on oil we made to our new home at 730 pm on the 6th of Aug. then labor day and Pam's daughter spent the night in the ER with kidney problems, which her left kidney shut down and 5 days later they installed a shut in her causing a lot of pain so Pam when to live her, things got real rough between Pam and me on the night of our anv. she came and spent 2 hours with me, it got real nasty after that so she decided that she wanted out of the marriage and I agreed, it did not help that she was under stress about her daughter, so she has got all of her stuff off the LADY STAR and as she put on Tagg and Facebook that she was starting a new chapter and doing the writing on her pages now. and for me, I get up each morning face the day and just keep going and wonder how it is going to be a good day or bad day, I realize I made mistakes in the marriage but that is water over the dam, I can't change that now. so I just keep going well that brings this bog up to date, I will contiue to update at least once a week or daily, as the LADY STAR and Capt. Blue and me motor on .

the time has flown

Wow it is the middle of Jan and I realize I have not posted anything on our blog in a couple of months,it has been a couple of awesome months, Nov. we went on a thanksgiving dinner cruise aboard The Belle of Topsail, a local cruise out of Topsail Beach, the food was super, the crew was awesome, it was their first one and you could not ask for a better one, I normally don't recommend any cruise but this one I really do, it is operated by Capt Dave and Sharon Luther, the bar tender is Cookie, it is hard to tell who the BOSS is, Sharon or Tiger, they are on Facebook under the belle of topsail, look them up.now on to the month of Dec., had to install a new holding tank on THE LADY STAR, 125 gallons,converted the rear aux fuel tank, not a fun job but got it hooked up , and in use, we went to Charleston to spend Christmas with family,came home on day after Christmas, great and glad to be back on board, If it is one thing that I have learned in my short 61 years on this earth is how to piss off someone in my family by just showing up on Christmas. on the way home we ran into snow, but by the time we got to Hampstead it was gone, it was just a preveiw of what was coming in Jan. well we celbrated the new year on baord, it was great, cold as hell outside but we stayed warm and snuggled up in the bunk watching the ball drop, then on the 4th I turned 61 it was a great birthday, Pam really had a awesome dinner cooked and whoa what a DESERT, still trying to recover from it 3 days latter, then we got 8" of snow, it was also the coldest December on record here, then 9 days ago I came down with pneumonia, I waited like a dumb ass male for 3 days before going to the doctor, not one of my brightest ideas, won't happen again, Pam's Daughter had there Christmas last weekend in Havalock, so we went and surprise it was great being there, a lot of love and a great time,the reason they had christmas late is because her son Alex was up in Pa, with his biological father, she is remarried to a hellva fine fellow named Shawn, they also have a little girl 18 months old, who is called Annie or RUNT by her Pa C(me)Shawn is on active duty station at Cherry Point well, that kinda brings us up to day, I am sitting up in a chair looking out and it is snowing again dam, Pam is going like gang bangers in school, 3.94 grade average since she started on the Dean's list for 2 years now, and has taken care of me while I was sick but she started with a cough last night so it is now my turn to play nurse, she has just told me that the holding tank is full, so I call the marina office and ask about using our portable pump out station, got told it was broke and broke in July , the board has not approved it being fixed. HMMMM, I guess I will call the President of the marina board tomorrow and ask if or when it will be fixed, it has been a great past three months, I promised to post more offen

The rest of Sept.

A moment of reflection, the past 2 weeks have been awesome, first on Sept. 18th, we were married on the aft deck of "THE LADY STAR" at 1700, I really have to say without bias that it was a awesome wedding, My mom was here and even took a tour of the " LADY STAR" my mom is afraid of boats,so it was the first time in 2 years that she had been on board,along with 2 of my sisters.the reception was super, then Sunday morning it was really awesome to wake up with the ring on my left hand, and a wife, happy days. Then Sunday night we were called and told that Pam's Mom had past away, she had been hospitalize for awhile, it came as a total shock, it took a day to get everything squared away to go up to Sharpsville,Pa. the trip up was 12hrs long, traffic was not to bad. the viewing was held Wed. afternoon from 4 to 7. the funeral was Thursday at 11, with a High Mass, it was very different to a Southern Bapt. country boy. Friday we headed home after we got home at 2300 hrs I got a call from my mom telling me that my favorite aunt Rose was in the hospital having her left knee replaced so on Sunday we went to Fayetteville to the hospital to see her and over to see my uncle Paul,also my favorite uncle. also to interduce my new bride to them, they have been married for 62 years, then we left to come home , after we got home it started to rain, on Monday I started having a sinus attacked and it put me in bed for two days and it rains until Thursday night, we got 22.5 inches of rain in 4 days, we were in a deficit now we have surplus of 5 inches, back to work on Thursday, now it is the weekend, Saturday, cloudy and very cool and breezy 20mph winds. tonight we go down to 54, so I guess fall is here, hello to the month of Oct.

good morning

Well here is the week end before our wedding and it is getting a little hectic around here, so far about 100 people have RSVP to wedding, the crew is getting a little anxious,from the admiral, Pam,the capt, Blue, he is just running and jumping all over the place, me the lowly deck hand, got to go and see what the wedding cake is going to look like, got to go and get the ribbon for the flowers, meet with the pastor tonight, and I thought all I had to do was show up at the corrected time on the right day and the right place, but oh no the Admiral has other plans go figure. on top of this got several projects on the LADY STAR, that have to be done, and no breakfast for me this morning, cook is on strike,

how time is flying by

Wow, here it is Sept.05 another summer is gone, it has been really busy since I posted, several projects have been done and the our wedding is fast approaching, yes it is still on, Pam has not change her mind or thrown me overboard,It is awesome morning today, the humidity is down, last weekend I wash " THE LADY STAR " all over, then this week we prepared for a visit from Hurricane Earl, who through the good graces of God, did not grace us with his presents, a little wind a shower or too. had to rent a mini storage room, and haul a bunch of stuff off the flying bridge, like suit cases, and just junk now I can get up there, the galley is now done until Pam wants to change the counter tops,not for awhile. this morning I got to change out the bilge pump switch, then install a new shower pump system and pump, the previous owner had removed and let it dump into the bilge,I got to run a new drain line to a through hull fitting above the waterline. also got the front stateroom cleaned up and where we can move around in there, oh yes we now have a new member of the crew He is Capt Blue,oh yes I have been demoted to a lowly deck hand, lol, he is a 8 week old black kitten, he is a mess all over the boat, all hours day and night,loves to eat and play and sleep, he is a trip and half,well I have finished my coffee and time to get busy on the projects, thirteen days to the wedding, catch you later

A busy weekend

well it is the 4th of July weekend, Sat, we went to Cola.S.C. it was my mom's 81st birthday, all of my brothers and sisters where there except one brother were there, oh yes there are 6 of us in this motley crew, 3 guys and 3 gulls, lol, it was great, also got to see my grand son, who is 6 months old and sorry his mom will not allow any pics to be posted, go figure; boy he is a spitting image of his dad, is very good natured and very laid back, for a baby, strong, has the most bluest eyes you will ever see or stare into, a real lady killer, going to be a hand full later in life. We grilled out and everyone had a great day, came back to THE LADY STAR on Sunday and boy it felt good to be back, after a 5 hr drive, and it was really great to sleep in our own bed. We stop on the way back in a little town called Fair Bluff and walked down their river walk, they have expanded it another quarter mile, it is up above the river, it was awesome, cool breeze and shady the whole way.Once we got back to the boat, we had a little problem with the rear head, oh yes it just decides to quit working, the pump motor froze up, and so after checking it out, off to West Marine to check on a new pump unit, 500.00 just for the unit or I can buy a new head for 500.00, different head so back to the boat and on line I go to compare heads, well, it was getting late and the fireworks where beginning, so we watched 9 different shows from our bow and flying bridge it lasted for 2 hrs and was just awesome by now it was 11.30 and I was just to tried to fool with any thing, so off to bed.

I, the Admiral, am fighting with the ants that decided to visit us. Every drawer and cupboard I open I see those little things scurrying. I have emptied the drawers and cupboards in the galley. Washed everything down and sprayed. I don't know where they are coming in at. I had to spray the aft deck and the Captain sprayed the lines and hoses going to the boat. I think we should get those things that trap the ants. I am spraying the bed before I put the clean sheets on it. I don't want to be woke with them crawling on me. Well, I had better back in the galley and get supper on. Talk to you guys later.