"ew... its smells of varnish"

I have fallen into writing posts in a style that Barbara Hart described as "short and descriptive".

I quite like that, as its pretty much the way I see it too... although its not intentional. Its probably a result of too many years in IT, a good chunk of my lifetime banging out dozens of emails a day, and most of all, the fact that no matter how hard I try, beautiful writing just doesn't come naturally to me.

I am however, going to break the habit of a (nearing) 10 year old blog, and write a bit about a less directly boaty subject, and more about its impact.

I look around my house, and the entire place is covered in partially completed boat bits, from doors to trim, all varnished, or partially varnished, a brass bell, a brass oil lamp, a Hydrovane self steering system in bits, a pile of headlining panels, a dozen crates of boat bits waiting patiently since they were disembarked from our previous boat, Morgana, much more besides and through to my personal favourite, a pile of unloved and uncorrected charts.

They, on a daily basis, remind me of the fact that I am not currently sailing, and encourage me to keep going. The charts in particular tease me with glimpses of places we know and love.

Their time will come.

But the real evidence of a boats existence is created by the cat.

She has a favourite arm on the sofa upon which she spends her habitual 23 1/2 hrs of the day, and this evening Debs noted that she is starting to mark it, so a blanket was needed. I placed a towel on there as a temporary fix.

"Ew.... it smells of varnish"

Yes, my life is out of date charts, and a faint odour of wood finish. What more could you want?