Burning Up in Boston

My time in Boston has flown by in a whirlwind of holiday socializing and sister-izing. It's been grand, but it's time to head back home … to David and Nine of Cups. All the ordered boat parts arrived in plenty of time to stuff them into the two 23kg (50#) duffels that have been sitting on Lin's basement floor, slowly filling to capacity with every UPS delivery. I weighed the unwieldy duffels on Lin's bathroom scale. I had an ounce or so to spare in each one, but I had not yet packed any of my clothes!

Before leaving, I promised Lin I'd help to take down all the Christmas decorations and stow them away. It's a full-day's job, so I packed the duffels early and we planned our last full day together as a de-decorating day. We hauled out all the storage boxes and I de-ornamented the tree while Lin carefully wrapped each precious bauble in tissue paper and packed it away till next year. Then the lights came down and all that was left was a bare tree and millions of dry pine needles on the hardwood floor. We wrapped the tree in a sheet to contain it … a shroud of sorts … and dragged it down the stairs to the chiminea in Lin's woods leaving a trail of needles behind in our track. As is Lin's tradition, we planned to burn the tree. Goodbye to the old year and hello to the new.

There always seems to be one stubborn ornament that remains hidden on the tree. This year it was a brass elephant stuck in the middle of the tree, close to the trunk. As I lopped the branches off the tree to add them to the chiminea, there he was. It made me wonder how he had migrated to the inner branches to hide. Surely being stowed away till next year was preferable to be tossed into the fire!

We sat in wooden chairs on this crisp, cold day, sipping hot cider and rum, avoiding the smoke and cinders from the burning tree. We walked through the woods and reminisced about the challenging year past, talked about how lucky we were to have each other to share these challenges and what 2015 might hold for us.

As we say goodbye to the Christmas tree and 2014, don't forget First Foot Day. It's celebrated  on New Year's Day in several countries including Greece and Scotland. The first person to set foot in your home after the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day is thought to bring good luck. It's not usually a resident family member and the person cannot be in the house at the stroke of midnight. The visitor usually brings some traditional gifts like bread, a coin and perhaps some whiskey or wine signifying that you'll have enough to eat, drink and spend for the upcoming year.

Just a hint … if you haven't checked out Days and Ways to Celebrate 2015, it's available here in .pdf format that will work well on you computer or tablet, or in Kindle format at Amazon. It's a whole year's worth of celebrations … day by day!

A Birthday at Sea

 

I absolutely love my birthday. I don't particularly enjoy getting older, but I certainly love celebrating. We've been at sea for several of my birthdays … November always seems like a good time to be on the move for the change of the seasons. This year is no different. Here we are on our way to South Africa and I'm turning a year older. No worries though. I'm a master at getting the most out of my birthday.

I always remind David well in advance (starting in October usually), that my birthday is coming up. It's not like he'd forget, but why chance it? Since we left before my birthday, we planned that our gourmet lunch at Bois Cheri would be a preliminary birthday celebration, a good way to get into the birthday spirit. I also suggested a few extra treats for myself since we don't often exchange gifts. I've got a new Mauritius tea mug and a t-shirt … after all, my birthday only comes once a year.

Once we're at sea, I count the days like a little kid. Then, it's finally the day. David greets me with a Happy Birthday song when I wake up for my midnight to 0300 watch. Sometimes he makes a card if we're not seasick and he takes care of cooking for the day. I make sure to stock the ingredients for my special birthday meal and there's usually a dessert involved.

There's limited merrymaking on the actual day, but that's okay because this is where the celebration becomes virtual. I have every intention of extending my birthday festivities to the other end of the passage in Durban, South Africa. Why wouldn't I? Virtual celebrations aboard are quite imaginative. We sit in the cockpit and I start describing a perfect day in Durban. The key is the imagery that we can conjure up while we're imagining what the day will be like … from a sunny, warm day walking hand in hand along a beach to what we might have for dinner or how good a glass of cold, bubbling champagne will taste after a couple of weeks at sea. Maybe we'll go to a park or on a safari … the possibilities are endless and so are our imaginations.

I guess the key is knowing that my birthday celebration isn't just a one-day affair. In my mind, November was created just so I'd have an entire month to celebrate.

Speaking of celebrations, don't forget to check out Days and Ways to Celebrate 2015 … a whole year of celebrations to ponder and plan for.