A Day in My Life...

Yesterday was a good day.  And I feel, typical, of my days on the boat for the next three weeks.  Here is a review:

7AM--Wake to the sound of voices outside the window.  Cuddle with husband. Doze until 8:30.
8:30 AM--Finally answer nature's call.  Put on the tea kettle, NOT for water for tea, but for washing my body.  We are in super-conservation mode as comes to water, electricity, and the holding tank.**   So today for my 'shower' I poured hot water from the kettle into a tub, tempered it with cold from the faucet, and then stood in the shower and washed.  Surprisingly, it felt quite good!  Much better than a cold shower, and it used less water!
9AM--sit at the table to apply makeup.  I found out those voices that woke me were from what appear to be high-schoolers, because they are debarking from the Sternwheeler Rose, which has pulled up to the dock to unload.  Twice I hear the comment 'Oh look!  She's putting on makeup!' and I feel a bit like a monkey at the zoo.  We DO have nice windows that we much appreciate for the view they allow us, but it goes both ways!
9:30 AM--I leave Al to lounge and read in bed some more--he has work calls later--and head up to the Little River Cafe.  I order a bowl of oatmeal, and set up the computer at a table.  I check emails, Facebook, the news and weather, usually in that order.  I 'chat' with one of my daughters via Facebook, and I order more soap-making supplies.  After an hour online, I am ready to return to the boat, but first I head to Bean and Tree  for a mocha and a latte for Al and me, arriving JUST in time for him to have coffee for his 11:30 AM call.

While he is on the phone and computer for work, I read further in the book I began 2 days ago, Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult.  I like this author because she writes about tough issues, and usually presents many facets of those issues very well.

12:30 PM  Al is hungry.  He has not had anything to eat so far this day!  I am still FULL from my bowl of oatmeal (which I couldn't finish), but I heat some soup to share, and I put together a sandwich in addition for Al--his favorite, turkey and swiss.
1:00 PM  Wash the dishes from lunchtime and the last night's dinner.  I TRY to wash dishes only once a day, making that water stretch just a bit further, but today I want to clear the counter to make a batch of soap.  I pull my supplies out from their cupboard, which also contains my cleaning supplies.  I have to TOTALLY empty the cupboard to get all that I need.  Then I discover that it is quite dusty in there, so I get the vacuum and take care of that.  I made a one and a half pound batch of soap, using vanilla and nutmeg essential oils for fragrance. In another day or two, I will remove it from the mold (a sandwich meat container--practicing the 3 R's of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) and cut it into bars in another day or so.
3 PM  Repack all my soap supplies.  Reorganize my canned goods drawers.  Spend some time in the V-berth moving things in the attempt to clear a bunk.  This will take ALOT more work, but it must be done before we have company for a weekend in July.
5PM  Al finishes up some work and research he is doing on the computer.  He asks to go for a walk, but he takes longer than expected, so we decide to have dinner first.  He fires up the grill and sets it on low to heat the left over lasagna wrapped in foil that we got from friends.  It is yummy!  I love Italian food best, I think.
7PM  We finally depart for our walk, which has doubled as a garbage run, and potty break.  Another aspect of boat life:  We have a holding tank as our 'sewer', so in order to not fill it too quickly, we do use facilities on land as often as possible (ANOTHER reason to visit those coffee shops, in addition to the caffeine and wi-fi). The public toilets near Riverplace have those stainless steel bowl-seat-all-in-one.  And like most women, I try to hover, first because of the general 'ickiness' of public restrooms, but also because stainless is COLD to sit on!  But, I have been on a boat for the past month and a half, and I experience 'land-sickness' most strongly in small enclosed spaces, like bathroom stalls.  The floor 'tilts' and I sit after all---GASP!
8 PM  We continue our stroll along the waterfront, searching for an ATM to deposit the two checks burning a hole in Al's wallet.  The first we come across does not have envelopes.  We find a second that does have envelopes, but after preparing the envelope and attempting the deposit, it says he needs to go to his institution to make a deposit.  Arg.
8:30 PM  We return to the boat, and take our pudding, blankets and books to the back deck to enjoy the last bits of daylight.  I am nearing the end of my almost 500-page book.  Now that we are away from the marina and our ready supply of electricity and easy wi-fi connection, we watch TV very little, and I am limited in my computer access.  That means, I am reading ALOT.  I use Goodreads.com to track my books and read reviews.  In the past, I think I read an average of a book a week or so.  I think this is my third book in the last week.  I have a good supply yet for the summer, but we are also considering an e-reader.
9:45 PM  We decide to forego the 10 o'clock news and prepare for bed.  This also includes time to discuss hanging some artwork on our cabin walls.  How do we make them secure--we get tossed about pretty good from time to time, and we don't want them to come down.  We need to visit a frame shop for advice.
10:15 PM  Lights out.

** The reason for our Super Conservative Mode is we have claimed our spot for the Blues Fest in downtown Portland, and hence can not move until the 5th of July.  So we need to stretch our expected two week supply of water to 3+ weeks.  And as we are not moving, we will not be recharging the batteries from the main engine - only the small generators.