Winding Down on Thanksgiving…
C.E. Grundler
I’m getting a late start this morning, and a rather sore one, but an extraordinarily content one. It’s snowing right now, which, in my eyes, means it’s officially winter, and it won’t be spring until the first crocuses break the ground. But I’m okay with that.
To say the weather has been throwing a whole lot more variety into the mix would be an understatement. Buffalo will be digging out for some time to come, while here on my corner of the Hudson it hit 71 degrees on Monday.
I’d been watching weather patterns for the last few weeks, preparing every possible stage of finally hopefully just maybe glassing Annabel Lee’s decks. Truth be told, I was starting to get a bit unhinged. This is a job that blindsided us, and between a series of alternating health issues, the entire spring, summer, and 99.9% of fall had slipped through our fingers. Yes, I’ve thrown all the time I couldn’t work on the boat into the pages of my writing, but that didn’t put the boat any closer to ever escaping that shed that was starting to feel like a prison. Did I say I was getting a bit unhinged? The colder it got, the worse it was on my husband’s hands, and as for me, I’m learning I can’t work the way I used to. One day I bribed my daughter’s boyfriend Alex to lend me a hand at the boat — I had to do some work — ANY work — or I think I was going to snap. Truth be told, my daughter doesn’t understand my obsession (let’s call it for what it is,) though she does understand dreams. I wasn’t sure what Alex would think of this madness, but when he came aboard he was fascinated with every aspect of the boat. But he didn’t mind when the train came by and the boat shook, in fact he found it entertaining, and was more than happy to pick up power tools and jump right in. I couldn’t believe how quickly or smoothly things began coming together. But the best surprise came the next day, when my daughter dropped by to tell me Alex had as good a day as me. He had a great time working with his hands and loved being around the boatyard. He wanted to work with me to finish the boat.
Things were moving along again, and it felt great. But seriously, it was nearly the end of November…Thanksgiving was right around the corner, and the odds of any workable days once we hit December… I didn’t even want to consider going yet another winter with decks apart. It was cold over the weekend, but temperatures were set to hit 71 on Monday, and we were all set. But Monday came in the form of a fog bank that didn’t burn off until after two, and the boat, cold from the weekend, was sweating condensation like a cold beer in July. We heated the cabin, wiped her down, but it was a losing battle, and we threw in the now soggy towels. We still had Tuesday; it wouldn’t be as warm but 57 was still warm enough. Wednesday it was going to snow. Seriously. And then it was Thanksgiving, and then it was December. So it was Tuesday or it was April, and it was going to be a long winter.
You’ll forgive the lack of photos, but I’ll just say it was as sticky, unpleasant, hellish, awful and a whole lot of other words job, but it is DONE. I repeat, DONE. The decks are sealed. Yes, there will be a whole lot of finish work, but at this moment it is in fact Thanksgiving, it is snowing, and I’m aching all over in a satisfied way. The decks are sealed. Everything else from this point forward is small stuff in comparison.
My daughter and Alex will be dropping by later. The turkey is about to go in the oven. I’m looking forward to a relaxing day of good food, good company, and a nice optimistic feeling that this is going to be a good winter. Time to get cooking — Everyone have a wonderful, safe and happy Thanksgiving!
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