A non-traditional Christmas

Oh, how I've longed for a Christmas at anchor for the past 2 years! But alas, it wasn't meant to be. After filling water and warming the engine to get underway on Christmas Eve, we got stuck on a hump of bottom as we tried to leave the dock. Rather than get stuck in the channel, we pulled back in and changed our plan. Just based on the tide charts, we should have been fine, but when winds are out of the north the Chessie tends to empty a bit and tides can be lower than expected. We could have made it happen, getting underway or anchoring in the dark, but our desire to relax and goof off with the kids was strong, too. Winds on Christmas were forecast to be "sporty" so it all just kind of worked out.

We had a LAZY holiday! We played games, watched movies, and of course exchanged presents! I scored a ukulele, the boy loved his new Barcelona Messi jersey, the girl got clothes and books, and the Captain got a new back-up plotter/game platform. ;) And the whole family is going to head to the mountains to try our hand at skiing. It was a very merry day!

Time for a little Star Wars action--we have tickets to go see the new movie later this week!

Snow!

We got our first decent bit of snow this weekend! It didn’t stick well to the warm ground, but piled up nicely on the docks. And this was good snowball snow! It didn’t stay too long, but it was fun while it lasted!

"Deck the lines with LED magic! Falalalala, lalalala..."

Ok, the leftovers are in the fridge so it is officially time to decorate the boat for Christmas!  I love having the lights to get us through the dreary days of winter!  For those that are curious, we don't keep all of this stuff on the boat.  It lives in our 5'x5' storage unit in the marina.  And everyone got involved this year to hang our new up-and-over strings!  I love it!  And as always, decorations are hung with sailing in mind--we are still able to cruise under full sail with all of these lights up!

Return to Quiet Waters

Man, it's great to be back on the Bay!  After our delayed start we hit one of our favorite off-season anchorages this weekend--Harness Creek.  This is a great (albeit tight in the summer) anchorage for visiting Quiet Waters State Park.  We had the creek mostly to ourselves but found lots of other folks out hiking and enjoying the park.  We hit the ice rink early and skated for a few hours.  We are going to be so sore!

Our peaceful anchorage.

The crew heads ashore.

Skater Swab

Skater Mate

Giving Thanks

This year I am once again thankful for a family that can just go with the flow! We had planned to enjoy our four days off of work and school on the hook in Chesapeake Bay, but a quick check of systems Wednesday night left us scratching our heads over a hydronic heater that just wasn’t kicking on. We haven’t used it in a few years, and with lows around freezing at night we need it at anchor. Time for...

Plan B! How about Thanksgiving at the dock? We started the day with fresh, hot donuts from The Country Bakery in Deale, MD (if you stop in Herring Bay, definitely worth getting a ride to see these guys!) and lazily cooked, played video games, and watched football. Somewhere in there Frank found the misaligned valve in the hydronic system and topped off its fluids.

Cooking a big meal on the boat is always an adventure and this year didn’t disappoint! My little turkey breast was still too big for our oven, so I shifted to the pressure cooker. I used essential oils in place of some fresh ingredients (and got amazing flavor!), and even with only two burners I managed to bust out a decent traditional feast—turkey, potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, deviled eggs, and gravy! I made my own for the first time!

One of my helpers!

DoTerra Wild Orange in the cranberries!

DoTerra Rosemary for the herbed butter

Darn thing barely fit in the pressure cooker!

Using my 2 burners to keep 3 pots warm.

The boy made the eggs!

The happy (hungry) crew!

Ta da!

We ended the night with a movie, Star Wars Episode 7. I am so very thankful. Happy Thanksgiving!