Tuesday 28 February 2012

Late winter update...

Here we are in late February, and spring is just around the corner. Most of the winter we have been dormant, not doing much at all with boat stuff. Actually, that's not true at all, Iris has been dormant, and the blog has been dormant, but we have not.

Over the course of the winter we have become increasingly aware that our house no longer fits our needs. Living over an hour from work is just silly with what gas prices are right now, and having 2 small boys and a teen means lots of extra-curricular activities that are very difficult to make it to once the commute is factored in.

To that end we have decided to move to new cruising grounds in the spring. In the coming weeks our home will be put up for sale, and Iris will be relocated. In order to make that possible, I have been faced with a few challenges. First to make our house more saleable, then to find Iris a new home and get her there.

In order to get the house market-ready, we have had to complete a number of projects and initiate a few small ones. New flooring, paint, and trim had to be installed. the boat stuff had to be cleaned up and the basement swept clear of debris. A contractor is coming in to finish up some small tasks, and by next week the house should hit the market. Call quick if you want to get the jump on it - 1.1 acres in rural York Region with an expected sale price in the middle $360,000's.

As for Iris, she will become a Lake Ontario boat. I still have to finalize where she will be going but I have a meeting with Whitby Yacht club, and I am 99% sure that will be her new home. We just have to dot the I's and cross the T's and its all done. Whitby makes sense for us since its not in the thick of Toronto, but you can get there in a day. Plus we can travel further east or south for adventures. Plus Whitby had a very active racing fleet, which should make for some good times. Here's hoping it goes well there.

New adventures to follow...

Monday 6 February 2012

He's in WHICH skating class now?!?!

Buddy had class one of session 2 of skating a few weeks ago.  He no longer falls down every 3rd step, but when he does fall down, he waits for someone to pick him up. Anyway he shuffles around pretty well, and really enjoys "skating".

First class of session two, and they advanced him into the advanced group, skipping intermediate.  When I questioned this, thinking that a mistake had been made, I was assured "he's green... coach said!"  ok fine.  (red = beginner, yellow = intermediate, and green = advanced.  He gets a smiley face sticker in the appropriate colour for his helmet, and they'll slap a new sticker on fr another class if they feel that it is better for hoim). Buddy doesn't realize how far down the ice he's supposed to head, and sticks around in the yellow class.  Then continues down the ice after hanging out there for a bit, trips on the blue line, slides across the ice, and lands in the middle of the advaanced (green) class, who are just about to do a drill.

The instructor comes over and picks him up, dusts him off, and sets him on the trail the kids are all skating along. He shuffles along with all the other kids piling up behind him. Its like watching granny drive on the single lane road. Once the entire class is lined up behind him, buddy wipes out, and sits on the ice. Then he rolls around to try to get up. in the process he flails his legs and wipes out the kid behind him - who hits the kid behind him, who hits the kid behind him. The entire senior class goes down like dominoes.

Buddy is set back on his feet, instructor slaps a yellow sticker overtop of his green one, Daddy & I are happy, because we know that this is where he belongs anyway, and points him down to the intermediate class.  He shuffles over and the woman there tells him to get a teddy bear and find it a hula hoop. They have hoops set out for the kids to put the bears in, but every hoop already has a bear in it. The crate filled with stuffed bears is in the middle of the biggest hoop.

Bud skates all the way around, checking every hoop, then comes back to the first one, lifts the crate of bears out of the way, puts his bear in the hoop, and unceremoniously kicks the crate away.

Thats my boy. He prolly travelled more miles than any of the other kids tonight, and the timing on the slapstic comedy was perfect.