September 30, 2011

Rusty

We passed the 75% completion mark today….. so we are giving this TA that knockout punch.  So many times on a job where people are working 12 to 16 hours a day for weeks, they get tired and it’s hard to get that last bit of work completed.  I’m not saying this one is in the books, but it’s looking good to finish on time and likely ahead of budget.

There has never been a job that some part of it doesn’t go long, so I’m not expecting perfection… but this one is starting to close up rather quickly.  I scoured through remaining work today and there are not many hours outstanding for jobs due to complete in the next few days.  The phases of an overhaul are pretty simple. 

The first thing you have to do is get all the tanks, vessels and exchangers open so you can start cleaning them.  Once they are cleaned, you test everything to make sure it’s thick enough or in good enough shape to survive the next 4 or 5 year run cycle.  Repairs are generally well forecast, but there are surprises that occur.  Sometimes when you take these big cooking pots apart they get broken.  It’s not unheard of to spend an extra $50k to remake or repair a single piece of equipment found in need.

The place I’m working makes a non-permeable film that water and air can’t penetrate.  It’s used to make ketchup bottles and other product containers that need to be 100% impervious.  This film is fairly expensive so they don’t make the whole bottle out of it.  A single squeezable ketchup bottle actually has 4 layers of plastic.  One of those middle layers is “Noltex”, the product we make.  The majority of the thickness is a soft plastic that gives the bottle flexibility and the inner and outer skin is a thin hard plastic so the bottle won’t be easily cut or damaged.  I bet you didn’t know your ketchup bottle was so high tech did you?  I didn’t either until I worked here.

The past few years I have worked primarily in chemical plants.  These chemical plants mix up some nasty stuff.  Some use poisons in the process of producing a completely inert final product.  Here the primary stocks are light flammable liquids like Methanol, Ethylene and Alcohol.  Every one of those products are explosive so checking vessel thickness and leak testing after you bolt everything back together is vital.

Safety is a high priority, especially in one of these plants that run on volatile fluids.  The industry has developed good processes that minimize human error but catastrophes do occur.  I was in a refinery in Port Arthur when a pipe separated and covered 5 guys under 8 feet of hot molten catalyst.  A friend of mine was at the BP refinery when it blew up, many of his friends didn’t survive.  The hard truth is, things happen.. whether it’s in a refinery or flying in an airplane, or even walking on your sidewalk at home…. Stuff happens.  Yes, it’s probably more dangerous here than assembling cars or making coca cola… lol.  But I’m sure I’m in more danger driving my car home every evening…. than I am working in this environment.  People that work here are drug tested…  you can’t say that about the guy coming toward you at 70 miles per hour (140 mph closure) that hopefully misses you by 4 feet on the opposite side of the road.  That happens, what…. hundreds of times in a 5 mile trip.  I like my chances sitting in this trailer house…. next to hundreds of thousands of gallons of highly flammable liquid thank you.

I’m excited about my new boat…. I think it will be loads of fun.  I should start getting some of the parts and pieces in the mail tomorrow.  Many hobbies like this one aren’t all about the cost of the item your playing with… it’s the support expenses…. Like owning a horse; you need a saddle, and a bridle, and land to keep it and a barn…  They should give horse out free because he eats…. Well… like a horse.  So far I have spent more on the boat than its peripherals, and mine is electric powered so I won’t have to feed it lots of gas.  My ancillary expenses have been on propellers, special tools, I’ll have to have it painted or wrapped in vinyl to make it pretty.  The Lithium Ion batteries it runs on were almost half the cost of the boat…. but man it will be fun!  What else are you goanna spend your money on?  We have the living indoors part covered, the rest is pretty much saving for retirement and entertainment.  I’m sure you are familiar with the saying “I spend most of my money on boats and booze, the rest I just waste…..”  Maybe that’s a southern expression that you can’t identify with…. But I know those guys… lol.  They live around here.  I have even resembled that remark quite often.

What is it about buying boats….?  For a “boat guy” like me, spending money on a boat somehow anesthetizes the wallet pain to a completely bearable… even strangely euphoric level….  Is that wrong?   I don’t know…. It’s definitely true… I guess some women buy shoes, some buy hats, I buy boats….  It’s a Jones I live quite happily with.  I don’t know of any non-profit support group for the habit, so it must be OK…  There is no insurance you can buy against the malady…  maybe I worry too much about it… yeah.. I’ll just have to quit worrying about having more than one boat,  or two or three or 15.  Linda recently had to wave her hand in front of my face and break the spell of my buying another big boat for “investment purposes” ……… no really, honey… there is money to be made here. 

These big multimillion dollar yachts are selling for 10 cents on the dollar because of the economy and gas prices.  I think you ought to stack them on land side by side and rent them like trailer houses until prices go back up… hey if your ever in a flood (we live in a hurricane zone) your house could just float on its own… cool huh?  Linda had to break the solid stare I had at that one lately.  I was already looking for places to sell the engines.  They make much more fuel efficient motors than they did 5 years ago, so I’d gut the engine bays and sell the motors for industrial use… repower with fuel efficient stuff when the economy comes back and make a bundle… If your wife lets you do it, send me some of the profits because it IS a good idea… lol.

Linda here.....

Rusty is the most intelligent person I have ever known, plus he is strong in common sense and mechanical ability, which is my experience is a unique combination.  However, once in a very great while his frequent "thinking out of the box" gets out of my comfort zone.  This "investing in large power boats" was one of them.  I listened for several days to his presentation, fighting my gut response of "Hummm....I don't think so", because the majority of his ideas are "right on", and I wanted to make sure I understood the idea.  We discussed buying a large luxury vessel or two and putting them on land and renting them out until the economy came back.  I even suggested we could call the "boat park", "On The Hard".  However,  I knew if I was going to invest in property, I prefer land.  I really think we own enough boats. My grandmother always said that land is always a good investment because "God wasn't making any more land" ( I had a very wise grandmother). 

My diet is going extremely well.  I have lost 21 lbs so far.  It is hard but at least I feel great!!  This is a first!  I continue doing some consulting work.  However, for probably the next week I will be off while they are installing some recommended equipment.  I may make a trip to Beaumont for a couple of days next week.  I sure miss seeing all our cruising buddies.  We still are not certain of where we will be when this TA ends in the middle of October.  Rusty feels like he will do another in this area but that is not for certain.  I'm good with what ever happens.  I little lake time would not hurt my feelings.

Sea Yawl Later!!

 

September 29, 2011

Rusty is still swinging hard working long hours.  The hours should be tapering off some.  In the next couple of weeks he will probably only be working 13-14 hrs a day, 7 days a week...lol.  We are pretty sure he will work another TA from November through February.  Then visit family and off to Brunswick.  The dock-mates at the marina in Brunswick have been fabulous.  A couple of weeks ago Rusty was contacted by a dock mate to let us know that the tarp we put up was in tatters.  He took it down for us.  This week we were contacted by another dock-mate that our new dinghy was full of water and was folding over on its self.  He said debris from the tarp had collected in the drainage hole, which he had unclogged, but there were still issues because the dinghy had lost air.  Rusty told him that he would be happy to pay him to relieve the situation however he thought best.  When the fella went back, someone else had already removed the remaining water and pumped up the dinghy.  How good is that?  It is hard, especially for Rusty, to be so far away from SYL that we can't check on her.  It is such a blessing to have such good people around the marina that they really are watching out for her.  Rusty say's when we get to Brunswick we are going to have a big Bar-be-q for the folks there at the marina.  We will be doing our refitting there in Brunswick so we should be there a few weeks.  I know right now Rusty is really wishing SYL was here.  He mentioned this week that he is thinking about bringing her back next year so we could save all the money we are spending on this condo.  I reminded him that I need a break from the boat after the sailing season is over.  Last year I lived on the boat 3 months while we were working the TA together and I was sooooooo ready to be off by May.  I think I need a little land life every year.  Living space that stay dry, running as much water as I want, having all the refrigeration and groceries I want.  I love sailing, really love sailing but I know I would not be happy being on a boat all year round.   I am starting to miss SYL now.  There are days that I wish she were here.  I miss not being able to get away from the sounds and smells of a city and to just hear nothing but SYL slicing through the water.  I think I will be eager to return to SYL way before February gets here and that is a good thing.

On another note, for those of you who may not know, I have battled weight issues my whole life.  I have found a miracle.....a real miracle for me.  I started a week ago and the result have been so amazing that I am starting to question the scales here in the condo. I am going to the office today to weigh and if I have confidence in the results I will share....:)  I am super excited!  This very well may extended my time on SYL.  Say a little prayer....:)

Sea Yawl Later!!

Linda

 

September 27, 2011---Rusty

Swinging The Bat….

I haven’t written in a while, I’ve been busy swinging the bat here at work.  I’m just over half way through this TA, it was pretty rough for the first couple weeks…. getting the schedule ready to execute, but things are looking up.  I have been drinking a lot of coffee and running hard at giving the customer the best product possible….. putting in a 100 hours a week.

The schedule we now have is good enough, but does not have the common (to me) whistles and bells that add versatility.  As a TA plays out.. If the data is coded deeply enough I can really help the client sort out the fastest way to finish the job.  Apparently this is the best schedule they ever had here, so they won’t miss the extra trimmings I like to include in a full and robust schedule. 

We are about 2 days ahead of schedule so management is smiling and whistling as they go by the door…. I well know how quickly the sky can cloud up if we have a bad day or two… lol.  When it’s going good, there is not much interested in looking at details, but if it goes bad…. The management tool I build is the tow truck that pulls them out of the ditch so everybody gets very attentive…… report requests can pile up fast.  I like it when I can offer answers before they ask.  My experience doing one turnaround after another is useful to my customers.  The client’s main business is producing a product, not overhauling his equipment.  It’s kind of like asking a cook to make himself a new set of pots.  The clients cook up the chemicals, but it’s my job to give him some clean fresh pots to work out of.

As Linda mentioned I previously steered clear of getting into RC boats.  I did so as long as I possibly could.   When my buddies at the lake all have them… what’s a real man gonna do huh? 

My neighbor has a 1/8 scale Miss Budweiser Hydro with a gas weedeater sized engine in it.  He’s the instigator who kept asking me when I was going to get one… lol.  I finally relented and did what I love to do best…. (Bought another boat)  The guys run gas powered boats, but I ordered an electric catamaran.  It’s a scale model of an offshore racer that is 43” long and 16” wide.  It runs on 48 volts of Lithium Ion Batteries.  I ordered plenty so when I get low I can change and recharge the drained ones.

I think I’ll enjoy not having to mess with gas cans and such… just close the boat up water tight and throw it out there….  Nobody has carried a gps in his boat to see how fast it’s going yet, but I estimate they are running from 40 to 55 mph.  Not to let too much out of the bag or anything, but my electric boat might go a bit faster than that….  The biggest thing I’m excited about it is the working props.  I used to do some work on my own props back when I raced 12’ers.  These little props will be fun and easy to work. 

The big electric boat will make a nice platform to test changes I make to the props.  As far as RC boats go mine is pretty large so it’s heavier than some, it should finish out about 15 pounds, but then it’s 4 feet long so that’s not a lot of weight for the size.

I chose an Aeromarine Conquest hull.  I am having it delivered in plain white so I can put the color on myself.  I have some ideas about my basic color schemes, but I haven’t got the complete picture yet.  I won’t know for sure until I look at the boat for a while.  As you can imagine, I’ll post photos when it arrives.  It should ship in the next couple days…. So I should see it near the end of the week.

Here is a link to a Conquest RC Catamaran.  This one is gas powered, but the same hull.  It’s not a great video, but you can get the idea of the look and size. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kshkcev8Lmk

If I wasn’t so tired from working al these hours I’d be over the moon about getting and playing with this thing.  It’s gonna be a blast.  I’m excited, but sleeping at night isn’t a problem… lol 

I’m only home about 8 ½ hours a day.  I considered this boat a present to myself for working so many hours….  I think I have a name picked out for my new baby… but I won’t be sure until I see the boat in person.

 

September 27, 2011

I feel bad that I don't blog as much but honestly I am not doing much of interest.  I am still in Nassau.  I am just maintaining the condo, cooking meals for Rusty and visiting my mom, brother and Daddy Joe.  One thing that I guess I will share is that I have started another diet.  I feel this may be the one.  It has been going really well.  I want to give it another week and then report.  It is very strict but I don't feel bad like I usually do when I try and diet.  Wish me luck, say a few prayers.  If I am successful it will extended my sailing time.

Well, Rusty finally succumbed.  At the lake remote control boats has become the rage.  Boy's and their toys....lol.  Rusty has avoided getting too much involved primarily because he is not there.  However, he has ordered his boat.  I will take pictures as soon as it comes it.  He had this boat custom built to his specifications....that's my Rusty.  The competitive racer comes out.  It should be here in a few days.  He was going to have it delivered to the lake but I was betting he would change it to come here and it is. I won't give any more details until I check with him to see if he wants to blog the details himself.  I do know that he got a new dremmel so he can customize his props and it will come in handy for his jewelry making.

I am still working at the Family Practice Clinic.  I keep thinking I am at the end and I find a new issue to address.  Things are going well, just slower than I would like.

Sea Yawl Later!!

Linda

September 21, 2011

I am back in Nassau Bay.  I had a marvelous time with my kids in Beaumont.  I relaxed and was pretty much waited on the entire time.  I did miss Rusty and it was good to get back last night and get a hug.  His hours are long but that is what this is about right now.  He leaves about 4:30am and returns around 9:00pm.  We visit about 30 minutes and go to bed.  Repeat.  I think I will go home a few days each week.  I have so much I can accomplish at home.  I have about 12 wedding gifts that are long overdue.  I am giving my mothers prints but I have not had the cardboard sheets I needed to place the print in-between.  You would think cardboard sheets would be that hard to find but ultimately I had to order them online.  I need help to get the prints out and placed properly without bending the print.  I still have boxes to go through from the big move last year. 

Today I will go to the grocery and cook some meals to put in the freezer for Rusty to take to work.  I send him with lunch and dinner since there is not a cafeteria at the plant.  I pulled the last one out of the freezer this morning.  I got Stuart's taxes filed yesterday.  I used the free Turbotax and was quite pleased with the result.  I could e-file and direct deposit.  I will probably do ours and Erin's next year but will need to buy one of the versions since ours is a little more complicated.  Our tax prep after this year will be quite simple.  I love my accountant but we are now in the save as much as you can mode, our taxes are not very complicated now plus we are not here when it is time to file taxes.  I guess I will have to get E to scan and e-mail everything next year. 

Tomorrow I will go to the medical practice I was helping with.  I understand they have implemented all the suggestions I had made and are ready for the next phase.  I just found out we are having a Texas City High School reunion.  I have managed to miss all of them.  I think I was having a baby (Erin) on our 20th.....what is wrong with this picture....lol.  Rusty will probably not be finished with the TA so I will go to the meet and greet on Friday and skip the dinner/dance.  Call me old fashion but I would not be comfortable going to a dinner/dance without Rusty.  I know, I know this is 2011 but that is just me....:)

I have the funniest video of Michael's dog drinking water.  Erin has a Weimaraner and so does Michael.  Kloe drinks water with her entire snout under water and blows bubbles when she is drinking.  It is the funniest thing you have ever seen.  I video taped her drinking and will try to put it on the site through you tube.  I have done it before but it was a long time ago.

I first need to get some meals cooked for Rusty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ6FG6vE_xU&feature=player_embedded

 

6:00pm

I spent the large part of today at the Apple Store.  I got my IPad and took some "one on one" training.  I think I am really going to like it. It seems very convenient and will double as a kindle and web browser.   Time to go try out what I learned.

 

September 17, 2011

What an amazing day I had yesterday.  I came in because of a wedding today.  I came in early and planned on staying a few days to visit my kids.  Unknown to me Erin and Stuart has the entire weekend planned around my birthday which is Sunday.  I have been totally spoiled all day.  Apparently today will be a repeat of yesterday.  I am soooo blessed!!

 

I drive into the driveway I am greeted with this huge sign on the garage door and my daughter, Erin running out of the house wishing me a "Happy Birthday Weekend".  I was pampered all day.  She wouldn't even let me get up for a glass of water.  I didn't have my camera out so this picture was taken with Erin's phone.  By the time I got my camera out the sign had been moved into the house.
That afternoon she came home with an Editable Arrangement from "the men in my life", Rusty, Stuart and Michael.  I have never had one before and besides being beautiful it was yummy.  How they manage to have every piece of fruit ripened to perfect is a puzzle to me.  Then Stuart, Michael and Erin took me to dinner at Carabba's. Apparently there are more surprises in store today.  I feel so loved and so blessed.  It would be total perfection except Rusty is not here.  But it is still quite wonderful.

September 16, 2011

Packing up and getting ready to head to Big B this morning.  I have a wedding tomorrow and I will take the time to visit the kids.  I need to finish up our taxes and take care of other business.  I will probably head back Tuesday.  I have the freezer full of meals for Rusty to take to work.  He continues to work the long hours.  Things were going really well and last night his computer decided to act up.  When he went in this morning he didn't know if his program was corrupted or not. This could be a really bad thing.  I haven't heard from him which is not a good sign. 

I had some real good news yesterday.  At the lake we have a beautiful piece of stain-glass that Grannie made some years ago.  It is a circle with a large hummingbird in the center.  I have had it hanging in the window over the sink for quite some time.  I just love the piece.  Our sign out at the boat house is modeled after that stain-glass.  It has kind of become the logo for the lake.  The weather was so beautiful the last time we were there that we decided to open up the doors and windows.  I removed the stain glass from the window to protect it.  It is up high so I can't reach it to get it up or down.  The afternoon we were leaving I put it on the couch for Rusty to hang up.  Later that afternoon I came around the recliner, not seeing or remembering the stain-glass and plopped on the couch.  I heard the crunch and immediately knew what it was.  I was devastated.  That piece is so special to me, mainly because Grannie made it.  Grannie was so kind and told me that "it was not worth one tear".  I was just sick.  Grannie assured me that she could fix it.  We heard from her yesterday that she contacted an old friend that she use to buy her glass from and she decided to have him fix it.  Apparently it is good as new. I will post a picture of it when I return to the lake.  Most "stuff" is just not important to me anymore.  I have given most of my things like jewelry, crystal, china etc away. A very few things are precious to me, something's Rusty has given me,  my mothers work, my grandmothers work, photo's and a few selected items that were made or had been owned by someone I care about.  This stain-glass is one of those things.  I am so grateful it was repairable. 

 Well, I need to finish packing and get on the road. I would like to be in Beaumont by 9:00 am.  Erin has today off....fun day.

Sea Yawl Later!!

 

September 15, 2011

It is about 5:30 am.  Rusty has been gone for about an hour.  He is still working 15 hour days, and he is a bit frustrated that he is still trying to play major catch up, but overall this job site is sooooooo much better than the previous one.  His whole demeanor has changed..........I am so glad for him.  Last night we were talking about immediate future plans, meaning what we are going to do when this TA is over in October.  I have to laugh because the truth is, we can plan all we want but we really won't know until the TA is over what we will do next.  One thing is for sure....we are not going to Dumas, Texas.  The whole point of leaving SYL in Georgia was so we could be home for the holidays and when we are ready to cruise again we will not have to start from Kemah.  Leaving this area in January is not a good time.  The weather is not good and we get to the Gulf Stream when it gets harder and harder to find a good weather window for crossing.  Dumas is in the Panhandle and too far away from family for the holidays.  So we will see.  Rusty is making noises about taking another job after this one, but let's see what he feels like in a month when this TA is over.  For a planner like myself I have adapted fairly well to this extemporaneous life style, most times preferring it to a well laid out plan. 

I am continuing to work long hours at the medical practice but I will be leaving Friday for a few days to be in Beaumont.  A dear friends daughter is getting married on Saturday and I have some things like taxes to complete.  It will be good to see Erin and Stuart.  I saw my mom last Sunday and we had one of the best "visits" that we have had in a while.  I know she knew I was there and I think she knew who I was.  Mother has some form of senile dementia.  I feel she is mostly aphasic and just clocks out because she gets too frustrated trying to talk and the words just won't come out.  This disease is awful, really awful. 

Well, it is time to head for the office.  I got home after 7:00 pm last night and I would like to get home a little earlier tonight.  I did get home in time to see Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr. win America's Got Talent.  What an American story.  For the few who may not follow America's Got Talent, Landau is a man from West Virginia that has a wife and 3 or 4 children who works as a car washer.  When he starts to sing you are blown away.  He is a crooner of the Frank Sinatra style, swagger and all.  I have followed the program as I can and it has become apparent that Landau, besides being so talented, is just a really nice guy.  It is such a touching, feel good story.   I digress, I need to get on the road.

Sea Yawl Later!!

Linda

September 13, 2011

Things are pretty busy for Rusty and I right now.  Rusty is in the thick of this Turnaround and it seems the worst is over.  They have a schedule that is not as perfect as Rusty would like and one he will continue to improve, but he has a schedule.  The work environment is much better.  He comes home tired but pleased with how things are progressing rather than so frustrated.  He likes the people he is working with and that changes everything.  The alarm goes off at 4:00 am and I try not to go back to bed so I am tired and ready to go to bed when Rusty comes home.  I don't leave for the medical practice until around 7:00 am.  So in the mornings I have time to ponder the world, our lives and the people in our lives.  I think about how I want to spend these "last few years".  Not that I feel I am ready to "kick the bucket" but I had better get my list together....lol.  Rusty and I are bless to be in a position to be able make choices about what and where we go from here.  Cruising is not like golf, an activity that you can continue to do very late in life. Physical limitations can put a stop to cruising.  Yes, we could move to a crawler if and when the sailing part becomes physically more than we can do, that will certainly be a consideration at some point.  Besides the physical aspect of sailing there are other "down sides" such as being away from family.  I do think Rusty and I have found a good compromise by being home 5-6 months and sailing 6-7 months.  One of the things that has surprised me is how quicker and easier you can meld into the cruiser community than it is in a new land community.  I guess the major factor is that when cruising you have an instant common denominator that ties you to your "community".  Sailing is a passion of ours and even being here in Nassau Bay we have not found many people who are interested in swapping sailing stories.  When we start talking about sailing and planning our next trip you can see their eyes kind of glaze over with that look that says "I want to be polite but I would just as soon hear a blow by blow of your latest root canal".  It makes you realize that cruisers (including those wanta bes) are a small unique group of people.  Since when we are on land Rusty is working hard and we really don't have time for hobbies, it makes it harder to connect with others.  I am in no way complaining, just making an observation.  Well, it is now time for me to get dressed.

Sea Yawl Later!!

Linda

September 11, 2011

NEVER FORGET, NEVER!!!

September 10, 2011

As I have long suspected our "Contact Us" link does not work.  I thought we had it fixed but apparently not.  I plan on getting with my son, Stuart, and maybe he can teach me a little more about this web site so I can do some of the maintenance myself.  I also want to get a facebook link added to the website.  I have started making my list for the boat.  I hope we can go down in October, get  SYL ready and then return for the holidays.  We are going to try to find a place on the east coast to leave our car.  We really like the marina at Brunswick but renting a car one way is impossible.  When we came home in June Rusty's sister, Tassie ,drove our car from Beaumont to us but that is not something we can or should depend on.  We are just trusting that something will present itself so that our car can be left at Brunswick or somewhere close.  I think we have decided not to do the extensions, they quite simply or too expensive for our budget right now.  Sail, extensions, sail, extensions.......sail wins.   I do want to change the head out but that should be doable.  We also need to change the life lines out.  We have planned on doing that while we were cruising but that does not seem to be a good plan so I would like to change them out before we leave.    I am also hoping to connect with Milli from Morning Glory so she can help me finish the sunscreens.  I was looking a folding  bikes today but then I started thinking about how much I would use it.  I am fairly sure we will not leave the Bahamas, so what is the point.  I am just not sure I would use it enough to warrant the space it would take up.  I did order a dremel for Rusty to use on his sea glass jewelry.  I have started my list and I am getting excited about the prospect of being back on board SYL.

September 9, 2011

It is almost 9:00 pm and Rusty has been at work since 6:00 am.  It has been a crazy week.  He was assigned to a new job this week and he walked into a Turnaround that was had been in process a couple of days and they didn't have a completed schedule.  This is not a good thing.  He has been killing himself.  I don't know when he will make it back to the condo.  The long hours will continue for a while, that is the bad news.  The good news is we are filling up our cruising kitty.  This TA should last about 5 weeks and then if JV doesn't really need him....we are out of here.  Two days ago we didn't know if we were going to have to leave for Dumas, Texas ASAP or what.  This plant is in Deer Park so all is good.  We sure like JV.  This company has really been good to Rusty and Rusty has been loyal to them as well.  It has worked out well for everyone, I think.  I have been doing some consulting work at a Family Practice Clinic.  I haven't done practice management other than on small practice in about 10 years.  Wow, has the programs changed.  Electronic medical charting had just been in the hospitals for a few years when I got away from practice management.  The program this practice has is awesome.  Complicated but awesome.  As is with most medical practices they don't take advantage of all the properties their program can do.  My goal is to get this practice paperless....they are drowning in paper.  They have a lot of work ahead of them but it will sure pay off when it is all done. 

It is amazing how quickly our plans change around here.  We were under a lease until February but JV's needs changed and so did our plans.  The gentleman that manages the condo we are in has generously agreed to let us out of our lease.  They have been so good to us.  We are trying to find another tenant.  It is a great condo and reasonably priced.  It really is a gem, fully furnished and on the water.

This is going to be such a difficult TA that I feel certain we will leave Nassau Bay when it is over.  Rusty and I will probably go to Georgia and do some things on the boat.  We will probably take the Magnum to Georgia and then drive up the east coast.  I have never seen a change of fall leaves and that is on my Bucket List.  In fact, I would like to cross off several things off my Bucket List.  I have never been to New York and there fore a Broadway Play on Broadway, Central Park, Times Square, etc.  Hopefully, some friends who are in NJ will still be there and will be able to help us negotiate the Big Apple.  I haven't a clue where we would stay or how to get around.  I am quite intimidated by the big city....:)  Rusty has never been to New York either so it should be fun.  Rusty wants to spend about a week at the Smithsonian but I don't know if there will be time.  I want to be back homeby the middle of November.  I will be home for the holidays this year.

Well, Rusty just came in so I will...

Sea Yawl Later!!

Linda

We are having a very relaxing weekend at the lake.  It is so good to have Erin, Michael and "the girls" here.  The dogs are still pups and they are huge.  Erin and Michael are very good about seeing they have a lot of exercise.  These photo's were taken in front of the lake house.  Everyone arrived yesterday.  We watched Lonesome Dove and LSU beat Oregon.  Today we are having Erin's favorite meal, Sitton Chicken.  Erin made a corn casserole and I made dirty rice.  We will add a green salad and that will be dinner.  The weather is wonderful.  It rained most of yesterday and today is breezy and cool.  Napping has been the major activity at the lake house.  Lake rules are strictly adhered to.  "You do what you want, when you want and if you want" and "your happiness can not interfere with someone else's happiness or you lose".  Well, time to rest....I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday.

Sea Yawl Later!

Linda