Happy First Anniversary Just A Little Further

On October 12th, Columbus Day, 2012, we published our first blog post on Just A Little Further. Though we've been blogging for years, it wasn't until a conversation with our niece, Gentry, that we opted to expand our readership and our reach by launching the Just A Little Further blogsite. Since then, we've blogged daily whether we're at sea aboard Nine of Cups, exploring King Island in the middle of the Bass Strait or photographing Mr. Potato Head in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. There's always something to write about. Not in any particular order, here's a sampling of our favorite blog posts this past year …

Slaying Dragons - because that's what life is all about

Beginners Guide to Vegemite - It was a hoot writing it, trying it and doing the YouTube

The Blue View - Knots - David's passion for knots and his admiration for Ashley shine through

The Blue View - Refrigeration part 2 – An example of how boat projects usually don't go quite as planned

The Ick Factor – Sometimes the “real” side of cruising can be less than perfect

Magic Mysterious Enigmatic Easter Island – It's the most magic place we've ever been

Trusting Your Captain – because I do and this works on so many levels

Frugal versus Cheap – because there's a big difference and you don't want to cross the line

South Dakota - because Gentry read it and wanted to go back there. Good enough for me!

The Blue View - Edible Knot – because this is a knot I can get my arms (and mouth) around

FAQ - How do you do laundry aboard – another look at the “real” side of living aboard a sailboat

Cost of living on a boat - because so many people asked and so many responded

Do you have a favorite from this past year? Let us know what it is and why.

Tonight, we'll raise a glass to JALF and to our friends and readers. We love sharing with you, appreciate your feedback, and most of all, we like stretching our boundaries … just a little further.

Mabon Celebration - Celebrating the Harvest

 

I attended a Mabon celebration the other night at the UU church with my witchy sister and her very witchy friends. It's always a pleasure to be with this warm and friendly earth-centered group and Mabon was no exception.

First, let me explain that in the pagan Wheel of the Year, Mabon is the autumnal equinox. It's a time to give thanks for the harvest and fruits of the summer and an acknowledgment that winter will soon be upon us … a change in the seasons that is required to let the earth rest in preparation for springtime.

The Mabon altar was highlighted in candles and colorful fallen leaves. Pumpkins, squash, apples and grapes … fruits of September's harvest … filled the cornucopia. Lin led us in a simple ceremony of thankful words and contemplation of the season and its significance. Though I'm neither Wiccan nor Pagan, I can appreciate their contemplative nature and embrace their earthly philosophies.

We were each asked to bring a fallen leaf. On it we wrote the things we wished to cast away with the change of the seasons. I had a lot of “baggage” from this past year and I was happy to write it all down on a rather large oak leaf. We each folded our leaf and put it away in our pockets.

Pam had brought a sky lantern which I'd never seen before. Before the traditional potluck feast, we trundled outside the church into the crisp evening to light it. Its wick lit, it quickly filled with hot air, expanded and flew off into the night sky. We cast away our leaves at the same time. Luckily, mine was quite brittle and when the opportunity arose, I crumbled it and let it all go. Hopefully all the bad juju from this year went with it … and for that I will be thankful.

4th of July

 

The 4th of July. What a great summer holiday in the US, celebrating our revolutionary spirit with fireworks, cookouts and parades. Boston is called the “cradle of liberty” because so much of that revolutionary spirit was nurtured and demonstrated here. It was on this day in 1776 that our forefathers, regular guys like Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, who hated paying taxes to Mother England (simplified history book version), adopted the Declaration of Independence. George Washington wasn't there … he was getting ready to lead an army. And the rest is history.

David likes reading history. I'm more inclined to get his quick review of a book rather than plodding through the pages and then coax him into visiting places where historical events occurred. You can't beat Boston when it comes to historical places, many of which are associated with the Revolutionary War, the Spirit of 1776 and subsequently, the 4th of July. We visited Minuteman National Historic Park in Concord last summer … walking distance from Boston … for the Minutemen anyway. There's Bunker Hill Monument and the North Bridge, the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, the old North Church.

Typically, the big event in Boston is a concert by the Boston Pops Orchestra punctuated with synchronized fireworks and held on the Boston Esplanade on the banks of the Charles River on the evening of July 3rd. The traditional Boston Pops classic is the 1812 Overture (Hmm...the War of 1812 … yet another war with England...they're certainly persistent buggers) followed by a rousing version of Stars and Stripes forever.

We planned on attending a nearby fireworks display last night, but our energy dissipated before it was dark enough for the pyrotechnic display. We've had rain and thunderstorms for days now and the forecast for more kept us wimps in. So how are we celebrating the 4th? We'll fly the flag and maybe eat hotdogs and hamburgers while we watch The Patriot with Mel Gibson tonight. It's a reasonably good story, but not necessarily the way things happened. Whoever let the truth get in the way of a good story … or Mel Gibson?

We'll sing Yankee Doodle, too. Believe it or not, it's actually a Revolutionary War era song sung by the British soldiers making fun of the poorly armed and attired colonists whom they considered country bumpkins. Hmm … Guess we showed 'em!

Enjoy the 4th!