dickneyland

2011-12-21T23:29:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

We have decided to send out our Christmas card a little differently this year. HERE IT IS! There were a number of reasons why this made more sense to us...hopefully you'll enjoy it as much as if it were hanging on your wall.

So, as I am here posting on our blog again, it's hard to ignore the fact that the last time we posted anything was when we were in Costa Rica in February, 2010. Almost 2 years have passed us by, at least on this blog, but unfortunately all you get on this post is this year in review (SORRY!).

The year has been a big one, in many different ways. In short, Adam started a new business, Deanna got all licensed up, Rowan started Kindergarten, and Tatum...well, Tatum can do the splits like no one else!

Adam and his carpentry partner Dustin decided that perhaps they'd need an alternate occupation to retire on, and so, like most good carpenters, they started a chocolate making business! They now are one of few bean-to-bar chocolate makers in the US, making chocolate straight from the cacao bean. It is a wildly fun business to be a part of, and you can only imagine how nice it is to have REALLY GOOD dark chocolate around all the time! Their company is called Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate . More of their story can be read on their website.

Deanna spent the first part of last year studying and testing to get all caught up with national and state licenses in Midwifery. Now she is technically a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) nationally, and a Licensed Midwife (LM) in California. Still the same midwife, offering the same services, but the letters help us to bill insurance now. If you care to know more...Wellspring Family Midwifery.

We started home schooling this year, which for Kindergarten, that has meant a lot of organized fun! We have enjoyed settling into a different routine, and figuring out what gets these girls excited. Rowan joined a cross-country running team, and has officially decided that "she will be a running coach when she grows up". She loves the schooling part of reading and writing, and is quite a ballerina (well, as much as one can be at age 5!) Tatum does her own version of pre-school, and can almost always be found singing or humming. She has created a wonderfully entertaining fictional character named Grabe Nicklepants, who lives in the center of the earth, and owns a movie theater. Her stories of Mr. Nicklepants keep us rolling in laughter, as she unabashedly reveals something new every day.

Life never seems to settle down too much around here. We are consistently saying to ourselves, "We will get to that when things settle down..." and find that more often than not, those things just somehow have to get squeezed in amidst everything else. We try to spend as much time as we can down on the water, sailing or fixing up our boat. We recently bought a "fixer upper" of an old steel boat, with the hopes and vision that this could be our cruising boat one day. Her name is Zoë, which means "life" in Greek....we hope to restore that to her look, her existence, and our experience as a family living aboard, carrying the message of Life to those in each port we sail to.

We hope this finds you all well and healthy, enjoying the beauty of life set before you. We pray you find the Peace of Christ that offers us balance and grace, and a vision for things from above.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM DICKNEYLAND!!

We leave you with a wonderful Puritan sailor's prayer:

"VOYAGE"

O LORD OF THE OCEANS,

My little bark sails on a restless sea,

Grant that Jesus may sit at the helm and steer me safely.

Suffer no adverse currents to divert my heavenward course;

Let not my faith be wrecked amid storms and shoals;

Bring me to harbor with flying pennants,

hull unbreached, cargo unspoiled.

I ask great things,

expect great things,

shall receive great things.

I venture on thee wholly, fully,

my wind, sunshine, anchor, defense.

The voyage is long, the waves high, the storms pitiless,

but my helm is held steady,

thy Word secures safe passage,

thy grace wafts me onward,

my haven is guaranteed.

This day will bring me nearer home.

Grant me holy consistency in every transaction,

my peace flowing as a running tide,

my righteousness as every chasing wave.

Help me to live circumspectly,

with skill to convert every care to prayer.

Halo my path with gentleness and love,

smooth every asperity of temper;

let me not forget how easy it is to occasion grief;

may I strive to bind up every wound,

and pour oil on all troubled waters.

May the world this day be happier and better because I live.
Let my mast before me be the Savior’s cross,

and every oncoming wave the fountain of his side.

Help me, protect me in the moving sea

until I reach the shore of unceasing praise. Amen.

Spoiler

2010-02-28T20:49:00.000-08:00

Don't break a rental board. It really busts the travel budget.

Just one short week later.

2010-02-28T20:43:00.000-08:00

It's amazing to me how this is the same ocean we were surfing in just a week ago. Now the girls have to be in jackets and hats. Still they are able to wade in the water while Deanna and I shiver and watch. They are crazy.

2010-02-19T10:35:00.000-08:00

Well, here is just a taste of the waves we have had. There has been good steady swell and an even stronger, steadier offshore wind. Sometimes stronger wind than I have ever surfed in before. Usually by the evening it has calmed down a bit. I would upload more but the slow internet here makes it really slow. Hope this satisfies for a while.

THAILAND!!

2010-01-04T22:32:00.000-08:00

In August, our family embarked on our first overseas adventure together! We spent 2 1/2 weeks in Chiang Mai, Thailand, helping some Thai friends turn a youth hang out center into an official coffee shop. We took a group of friends from our church, this also being the first overseas/missional adventure for the church as well.

It was a wonderful trip, full of surprises and Asian wonder. Adam got to experience doing a remodel job, Thai style. Rowan learned to speak Thai better than any of the rest of us. Tatum crawled around, collecting dirt, and fed the flocks of Thais who wanted to touch her with a charming smile. Deanna just tried to hold the fort down while making sure everyone found something meaningful to contribute from their heart. I think we all walked away from it all wanting to come back...soon!

Dinner on a boat! We ate while floating down the river!

Elephants really are as big as you'd think they'd be.

Ad, making himself right at home...

A common scene. Everyone wants to stop and see a baby!

And of course, silly Andrew.

Tatie turns ONE! (June 22nd 2009)

2010-01-04T22:19:00.001-08:00

Gramma Chi-Chi and I took the girls out for a carriage ride around Old Town Eureka. Can't tell whether they liked the ride or feeding the pigeons more...

Sometimes I can't believe that this little girl is actually growing up! They all say it happens...I'm finding they are right!

Seeeesters!

year in review...piece by piece...

2010-01-04T22:03:00.000-08:00

I have found that over the years, we tend to discover things we are good at, and then pursue them. And then...there are those things we are NOT so good at, but we still try to pursue them anyways. Thus is my relationship with our blog. I really like the idea of keeping friends and family far and wide in the loop of our lives...but it is a challenge for me to actually do it.

Call it my New Year's Resolution, or just a way I'd like to improve my life, whatever it is...I'd like to keep this old blog a little more updated than it has been. :)

That being said, I am embarking on the great adventure of catching up from the last time we blogged (which was when we put the boat in the water in June of '09). But don't worry, I won't try to do it all at once (or I'd be here all night)...

Thats what I'm talking 'bout!!!!!

2009-07-07T22:56:00.000-07:00

Here is how she looks sitting at her new home. Much better that in our back yard i must admit. What a crazy 2 years and 9 months it has been. Thanks everybody for your help. All totaled it took about 2,000 hours of work we figured and much of that was from friends. Still no cost figure yet. Maybe we will just forget that little detail. Here are some more pics of the launch day as well as some before and after shots.

My friend Jens loaned me the really cool captains hat. Notice how nervous I look. I am actually that tense at that very moment.

Sorry by the way that it has taken super long to fill you all in on the launch. You would think that i would be eager to write about such a huge milestone in our lives. I guess i have been having too much fun with the boat now in the water that there is no extra time to write.

mushroom mele

2009-06-17T23:10:00.000-07:00

yes...in fact, a small portion of tonight WAS spent in the ER, trying to get this girl to drink liquid active charcoal mixed with apple juice!!

Tatum decided to snack on some of the wild growing mushrooms found amongst the weeds in our garden, and much to our dismay, everyone (including the pediatrician and poison control) thought it worthy of a trip to the ER. Unfortunately, St. Joes isn't employing any resident mycologists these days, so we all felt it safest to have her drink the yummy charcoal cocktail, in hopes that it absorbs any toxins/poisons the unidentified mushrooms could have had.

You may not be able to tell from the pictures, but she's feeling fine, even quite chipper, from the events of the evening. I think we got anything harmful before it got her. Thank God.

tatie likes to eat!

2009-05-24T22:44:00.000-07:00

yes...this girl just can't get enough. some of her faves include avocado, beans and rice, sweet potato, cheese and pears.

she sometimes enjoys getting them in her mouth too.

the mother of all days

2009-05-24T22:06:00.000-07:00

i'm finally ready to share with the rest of the world our most spectacular Mother's Day. adam surprised me by loading us all up into the car and heading up north to the secret spot on the coast where we got engaged 5 1/2 years ago. he had the gumption to go shopping!! and prepare a delicious spread of all the goodies you want to buy, but never can justify it (pesto cream cheese and baguette, fancy olives, panda licorice, dark chocolate, ginger beer, yummy co-op delicatessens...you name it...).

it was an amazing day. a reminder of what life is like for us when we

simplify and get away from everything else.

and we REALLY like it!

for the hike back out (through the crazy over-grown jungle of a "trail") we figured it would be too much to carry rowan in our arms (like we did on the way down), so we put her IN the backpack, on top of all the food.

super funny!

Launch Date

2009-05-08T09:09:00.000-07:00

I know it sounds crazy, but we are going to finally try and launch the boat on June 20th or the 28th. There is still tons to be done but we started painting last night. The paint makes the boat look really cool and it finally feels like it is nearing completion. Here are a few pics. Dustin has also been working on the joinery in the cabin but i don't have any pics of that yet. More to come.

Political Incorrectness

2009-04-16T21:50:00.000-07:00

We were doing a little home school lesson tonight with our friends from Africa. Rowan was coloring a map of the countries that we have all visited or lived in. When we got to Morocco, Rowan said "oh, like Morocco-bama."

top 5

2009-03-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

One of my top 5 experiences came to me this Christmas (and I'm just NOW blogging about this, you ask?? you know...this is how we roll..."back-n-front", remember?)

I couldn't necessarily tell you what the other top four are, but this is right up there with weddings and births.

Anyways, it was Christmas Eve Day (in Kansas City) and I awoke to find a quiet house. Where was everyone?? I looked outside and realized we had a fresh, fluffy layer of Christmas snow! Perfect! But to top that off, I saw the very thing any mother and wife could only hope to see at Christmas time (aside from a hot breakfast waiting for her on the pillow next to her in bed).

There, down the street a ways, was dear Adam, all bundled up and pulling sweet Rowan in a hand-built Mcguyvered sled he had made that morning.

He had cleverly pieced together a laundry basket, a couple of random pieces of wood, and a rope. Beautiful! I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas gift! Absolutely melted my heart!

Allow me to melt yours...

pillow cases for andrea

2009-01-21T16:49:00.000-08:00

what timing it was to be in san diego the last weekend in october. along with all the family fanfare, i also got to celebrate my dear friend andrea's birthday with her. she's creative and amazingly artistic. every good woman like that needs pillow cases. again, i got out of my norm, and colored OUTSIDE the lines. what a freeing experience! i love it. all i have to say is...actually, i don't have anything more to say.

Papa's Favorites

2009-01-21T16:09:00.000-08:00

PAPA'S PARTY

quite possibly the main attraction that weekend was my grandfather's 90th birthday party. this was the actual event that got the family all together for the first time in...i don't know how long...over 15 years, at least! (then all the other parties were planned as a sub-bonus!)

for gifts for "Papa", we were all asked to bring him something that was OUR FAVORITE, like our favorite wine, favorite recipe, favorite picture, etc. i decided to MAKE him something, which was my favorite passtime, and include as many of my favorite things as possible. i may have gone overboard...

i made him a cloth envelope out of an old pair of adam's favorite pants (and adam being my favorite guy, it only makes sense). on the back of the envelope i free-hand sewed one of my favorite scenes - the bird on the fence scene - which has been super fun to get me out of my comfort zone of square things with straight lines (see Taya's Quilt). inside the envelope were two framed pictures of my favorite girls, Rowan and Tatum (sorry ladies, i like you all a lot, but THESE GIRLS are my FAVORITES!) i sewed on my favorite button that i happened to have on site to close it all up with, and, naturally, just in case he got confused, i stitched on the front of the whole thing MY FAVORITES...

my crafty month...(october)

2009-01-21T15:37:00.000-08:00

october was a super crafty month for me...inspired by the many great parties i got to attend that month! the girls and i took a trip down to san diego with my parents to see family and friends. the next few postings are of the fun gifts i somehow had the time to make...thought i'd show them off a bit!

TAYA'S QUILT

one of the three main events happening that weekend was a baby shower for my cousin Taya. this is her first, a little girl, who is actually due TODAY! (happy due date Taya...hope it's not much longer for you!) i chose these retro fabrics from a company called MODA (find it at Scottie Dog in Eureka). i absolutely fell in LOVE with all the colors and the squares...it was a hard one to give up. but i took the photos to preserve the memory, in case i need to make it again for one of my girls :) i hope little baby Delaney likes it!

TATIE!!

2009-01-19T22:24:00.001-08:00

this girl has really grown up well! i can't believe that she's already almost 7 months old...my, how that time has flown! she is quite accomplished for her tender age: she can sit up, eat food, grab food out of her mouth with her hand and then smear it on to her entire head, do the Lt. Dan-inch worm crawl all over the house, clap, call both adam and i "da-da", and smile. boy, can she smile! here's a quick glimpse into a day in her shoes (or footed pjs).

avocado!!!

along for the ride

hmmmmm...i know it's in there somewhere...

got it! yessss!

the debut of the alaia

2009-01-19T21:52:00.000-08:00

adam has found something new! i know...crazy to think there's something out there not yet discovered by him, but we all know that if it exists, he will find it! and so we welcome into our family "Sally Anne", the old-school polynesian style first kine surfboard, the ALAIA. he made it. he rode it. we all got to hang on the beach and watch it. good times.

by the way...can you believe this is a mid-winter day in humboldt county?!? such the beauty of living on the northern california coast...HOT, SUNNY DAYS in JANUARY!!

Back-N-Front

2009-01-19T20:39:00.000-08:00

"back-n-front" is Rowan's personal term for things behind her. for example, when we ride in the car, Koa is "back-n-front" of her. we thought it fit to title this entry "back-n-front" as we're about to visit many things already behind us. most would call this re-living the past, or posting out-of date news...we are going to look at it as our fine opportunity to catch our blog up on the missing 4 months of life since we last truly blogged. **we did have a full water submersion of our camera, and several photos were trapped in never-never land for a while. thankfully, all have been fully redeemed, as you'll see them make their debute in the months (or years) to come:)**

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

2008-11-27T16:52:00.001-08:00

we are here in Cobb, celebrating our THANKS with Gammy Gill and Gumps. we've enjoyed a day off, frolicking about on the lawn, and jumping in giant piles of leaves! we have too much fun! May you all be blessed with family, health, and gratefulness this season...

the grandparent tribute

2008-11-27T16:04:00.000-08:00

it's been such a fun season for us...getting to spend so much time with our parents again. i guess it's true, that babies bring families together. i know why...because those grandparents just LOVE their grandbabies! and so here's THEIR page on the blog. it was wonderful having Gramma Chi-Chi out in the back yard (well, in the mothership) while she was here. i have to say, she's VERY missed (can't wait till May)! since then, we've had Gramma TUTU and NONI for a visit in August, when we all got to see Huck Flint play at the Farmer's Market and take long walks along the bay in Eureka. what a fun time we all had! we've been able to see Grammy Gill and Gumps down in Cobb a few times, got to go on a fun trip to San Diego, and are even spending Thanksgiving with them right now! it's great to live so close! we are so blessed to have such great grandparents in our lives...and that our kids get to grow up making memories with you all! we love you so much!

Keel Timber?

2008-11-27T14:29:00.001-08:00

Our camera got drenched by deanna's water bottle and is now fried so don't have any new pics of the boat project. Trust me it is looking great. But i do have some pics of the next boat project. What? Yes, we may have another boat on the horizon. One that may be able to take the whole family wherever we might feel called to go. I was up in willow creek milling up wood that could turn into another boat. Here we have low quality pics from my phone of us cutting a keel timber. 2 16'X13.5"X13" doug fir!!! We also have huge and growing pile of planking lumber in our back yard (pics on the soaked camera) the first picture is of me and jim running an alaska mill cutting the timbers from a 13" X 50" slab. The second pic is dusto with the spoils. Pretty cool.

RAD!

2008-08-17T22:42:00.000-07:00

uncle joe, aunt laurel, and cousin will all came up for a coastal visit. lots of good times, including BBQ pork ribs, smoked steak, strep throat, dog poisoning, and dirt bike riding. who could ask for a better visit!?! mike, you said you waned to see more BEARD! this one's for YOU!

summer goodness

2008-08-16T20:59:00.000-07:00

took a trip up north to Ashland, where good friends and sunshine reside. rowan, annabelle, and isaac got to ride a REAL horse! (though i'm not sure rowan loved it! maybe next year...?)

beautiful lines

2008-08-16T20:51:00.001-07:00

ad's been working hard on the lines of this beauty! our hopes are to get this boat done in time to watch the fireworks from the water next summer!

big phun

2008-08-08T22:33:00.000-07:00

life with a new baby means lots of things: lots of diaper changing, lots of nursing, and lots of new discoveries. it also means lots of big PHUN projects for big sis, so she will still feel loved and included. here are some of her phun shots... we took a family field trip down the street to the local fire station where our friend Adam works...a major highlight of Rowan's little 2 year life! it's shake and bake..and I HELPED!!

sweet sassy molassy

2008-07-28T14:02:00.000-07:00

just some great photos of our little beauty...she's really coming into her own (and out of the baby acne stage...thank God!)

we are familia...

sisterly love

2008-07-28T13:52:00.001-07:00

sweet as pie...

...and then in for the flying elbow drop!!!

oh, can't sisters have all the fun!

recent developments

2008-07-02T15:20:00.000-07:00

all's well here in Dickneyland. we're thrilled at the recent developments of our two girls: Tatum has since mastered the skills of breast feeding, digesting breast milk, excreting out breast milk, and sleeping. Rowan has figured out that if she pokes the baby hard enough, her eyes will open.

we're having fun, but gearing up for Gramma Chi-Chi's great departure on saturday. reality is about to set in for us...oh boy!

She Done Born Child!

2008-06-24T21:59:00.001-07:00

Yeah!! Here she is!! Seems like we've been waiting a long time to meet this sweet girl, and we're so happy to introduce her now...virtually.

Meet: TATUM FEI
Born on June 22nd at 9:24pm
8 pounds 5.5 ounces

After a quick (but intense) 4 hour labour, she came swiftly into the world in a hot tub in our living room! ROWAN was very helpful throughout it, offering me bath toys, and moaning right along side me. She loved watching mommy "gettin' the baby out". Couldn't have asked for a better birth, or a sweeter girl to come and join our family. We are all just basquing in the beauty of newbornhood...and loving every moment of it.

She Done Git Belly

2008-06-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

I meant to post this a while ago, but alas, it comes now...

While waiting for the baby to come, we got to have some good times and special dates with big sister Rowan. Here are some pics at 39 weeks, just a week before....

Launching the Mothership

2008-04-30T08:18:00.000-07:00

No this has nothing to do with the boat. My mom is arriving on the 7th of may and i have spent the last months and especially the last 2 weeks working like a madman to get as much done on her house as i could. It is far from done but totally liveable right now. We are in Hawaii and when we return so does she. We are really excited for her arrival and all the fun and help that she will bring. So, here are some pics of the progress.

I need a new project!!!

2007-12-08T07:43:00.001-08:00

We have finally begun the conversion of part of the shop into a mother-in-law unit, we have been calling it the mothership. Dustin, Garrett and I spent the last week doing some of the interior framing here are some pics. We did some cool timber framing on the inside. We still need to finish the siding once it stops raining.

Will it ever end

2007-11-28T16:57:00.000-08:00

We had some friends visit from Alaska. Andy Cowen is a great shipwright and gave me some great help doing some work on the deck beams as well as a caulking demonstration. It really made me feel like the project will one day get done. Andy also was encouraging about the work that i have already done. Here are some pics.

WINFIELD!!!

2007-10-12T22:35:00.000-07:00

and at the end of every great summer, is a great bluegrass festival out in the middle of southern Kansas! we found our favorite bands and faithful camping buddies amidst the bi-polar weather of the midwest: from 104 degrees and 100% humid, to cold and windy, where are all my warm weather clothes anyways?? at one point we had 25 Durkin family members crowded around the campfire for our first annual Winfield Family Reunion (plus Dustin)! the Wilders were hot (of course) and the release of their new RED vinyl record speaks of their class. major highlights were Rowan getting Irish kisses from David Munnely and his crazy Irish band (wish we had the picture of that to share!) and her dancing around the campsite wearing only her panties on her head, extatic about her new-found love of RAISINS!

hikin' in the alps

2007-10-12T22:21:00.001-07:00

we spent a glorious weekend in the trinity alps with our dear friends andrea and brett. it was a spectacular getaway!! we went to Lost and Found lakes, up off the trail from Boulder lake, near coffee Creek.

highlights include trailblazing through several steep miles of granite slabs and manzanita bushes, deep campfire chats, and Rowan discovering how to take her diaper off and poop in the tent. naturally.

we had an awesome time, it just took a while to post it!

folk boat vision

2007-08-20T22:47:00.001-07:00

random thought of the day: these are the plans for the folk boat sitting out in the back yard...that thing out by the blue tarp...

days on the water

2007-08-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

In june, we headed up north to the San Juan Islands for a week on a sailboat. We were surrounded by good family fun: Gramma Cole, Aunt Pat, Uncle Wayne, and Cousin Will. Yes, that's 6 adults and one baby on a 34 foot boat! Despite stepping on eachother's toes (literally), we enjoyed many great sunsets, awesome views, exploring the beautiful islands we'd moore at, and lots of yummy meals. Rowan even enjoyed herself in the mini-bath we found her in the head!

fun in the sun

2007-06-05T21:39:00.000-07:00

a very nice lady came up to us on the beach in kauai and asked if she could do a photo shoot of us. it was fun, but i think the best thing that came out of it was a little naked booty and the expression on rowan's face when she first discovered a sand-drip castle!

2007-05-29T01:28:00.000-07:00

so glad we brought the nanny!

2007-05-22T12:28:00.000-07:00

it's been so wonderful having our own built-in nanny! yeah for Uncle Dusty! at least we don't make him work too hard...i mean, he gets to play in the sand and make Rowan into interesting sea creatures, after all. it's been fun having him here... we're all having good times!

strange things in hawaii

2007-05-22T11:58:00.001-07:00

gas is cheaper on this island than in eureka!?! and...the sun sets in the west...over the mountains! it took me a while to get used to the fact that when we're driving up north, the ocean in on our right side. crazy.

what we REALLY do

2007-05-19T01:36:00.000-07:00

when work is done...we play HARD! these are our typical pau hana activities!

this beach we found right near the job site...not a bad place to work, eh?

ad gets his boogie ON! (gotta love costco in hawaii- from boogie boards to chocolate muffins!)

boys will be boys...good thing rowan doesn't mind!

...and our little philosophiser, admiring the vastness of the sea at such a tender age...

daily life in kauai

2007-05-19T00:55:00.000-07:00

finally some pictures to help you see what we actually do here on this "garden isle". the boys build walls. rowan eats sand. and deanna bathes herself in oatmeal. (it was all i could do ease the itch of a reaction i got from a bad sunscreen. the oatmeal face made rowan cry)

workin' hard!?!

2007-05-14T16:42:00.000-07:00

yeah! we finally made it to the tropical job site! (and are FINALLY updating our blog!! thanks to our patient friends who still like us enough to keep checking in...there IS hope, after all....maybe!) what a blessing to be able to be here and "work"! (no, just kidding, the boys are working VERY hard and putting in long, hot days.) and rowan and I are also working very hard...on ther types of things...like tans and blowing bubbles and checking out which hotels have the best beaches and hammocks, etc... we've had some trouble getting photos to post to our blog (today will be the third attempt). if we don't have some nice things to look at, know at least i tried! (and will try again soon) here's to pau hana (after work) activities!!!

STOP COMPLAINING!!!!!!!!

2007-04-01T20:44:00.001-07:00

some of our friends (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE) nag at us because we don't update our blog. We are doing our best. Now when we finally update it they don't look at it and leave any comments. We just can't win. Well hope you enjoy and we will do our best to make it an exciting expeirence. HA, HA.

fun times with the fam

2007-03-27T21:05:00.000-07:00

we've been so blessed to see our family a bunch lately.

rowan and deanna got to spend a week down in cobb for a "grandparent visit". it was super good times for all! especially bath time! rowan is capitalizing on free professional swim lessons from grammy G!

we also saw marshall and his girl caitlin in san francisco a few weeks back when we were down in the city for some band gigs (huck flint played at the san francisco old time and blue grass festival!). classic marshall scene: he went out to dinner with us all wearing plastic shopping bags on his feet, inside his shoes, because his shoes were wet and no socks in sight! love that guy!

it was such a fun time visiting with friends garrett and marybeth and their little annabelle plum. she and rowan have formed the next generation of the ya-ya sisterhod!

Closer to floating

2007-03-03T21:26:00.000-08:00

While there still may be months of work left to do on the old nordic folkboat, the boys and myself have been making some good progress. New floor timbers were made and many of the planks are being replaced. We have steam bent about 10 of the 50 or so frames that we will replace. Then we will build a new deck and cabin house. It will be great to see new life breathed into an old classic.

Perilous plunge

2007-03-03T17:54:00.000-08:00

Finally when it seemed like it wouldn't stop raining we get a nice day. The whole family (except koa) loaded into the little row boat and headed down to the perilous plunge. This is a fundraiser for the local childrens discovery musieum. People get sponsors to support them to jump into the freeeeeezing cold humboldt bay. Rowan got a new lifejacket for the trip and some cool shades.

boat work

2007-01-28T21:47:00.000-08:00

this isn't really a new project...but in september i started re-building a 1959 nordic folkboat. here are some pics of the yacht. we have started the "west avenue yacht club" because we have the only 25 foot sailboat in our backyard. our neighbors are jealous. especially of the giant blue tarp towering over eureka!

the first deck party of the year

2007-01-27T17:25:00.000-08:00

we have been continnuing to work on our house. it seems like it never ends...but soon all of the major work will be done! the whole family came out to chip in and get the job done! it was a party! it is great to finally have a place to sit and eat breakfast in the sun.

isn't she cute!!!

2007-01-25T21:20:00.000-08:00

Here is our little bundle of joy looking her best.