Remembering Ron On February 13th.

I cannot believe it has been a year since my Ron, my beloved husband left us for his new life.

I can believe, during this past year, he has been with me the whole time.   

What do you do on the anniversary of the death of a loved one?  I had to ask myself that question several times.  Each time, nothing appropriate came to mind.  It is not an occasion for celebration.  I also felt that I would require some time alone.  As the great universe would have it, I was sick.  Was it a coincidence?  Not sure.  What I do know is that I needed to drag my sorry butt out of bed and get some fresh air.  Thank goodness for Tylenol.  I got dressed and headed to Sooke.  In Sooke I purchased fresh and beautiful red tulips with rich black centres.  Winston and I were now on our way to Botanical Beach.  The road to Port Renfrew was just what I needed – deserted.  I encountered few.  The beach was the same – perfect.  The sun shone, the waves were crashing and the tide was barely out, but out far enough for me to write in the sand.  When we travelled we did this often.  I then took the flowers and threw them into a raging tidal pool.  They were instantly swept away, just as I wanted.  Winston and I then basked in the sun and allowed ourselves to get lost in the roar and pounding of the waves.  We were one with Ron.  It was a time for sweet and loving memories.  It was a time to just be;  Ron, Winston and me.

I want to thank all of you who texted, emailed and telephoned to let me know that you too, in your own way, were remembering Ron on February 13.


The following song is from one of Ron's favourite artists.  Click the link to listen.

A White Sandy Beach - please listen, enjoy and remember.

Aloha, my love

February So Far

February has so far been a rough couple of weeks.  Without going into details, I have had to face an appeal board of three doctors.  The days leading up to February 6 were agonizing.  To prepare for the appeal I was forced to re-live my journey with Ron and his cancer.   Further, I was also pushed to face my weaknesses during my journey through my grieving process.  The doctors asked questions for three full hours.  Needless to say I was emotionally, mentally and physically exhausted.  I retreated to my Volvo.

There I gathered myself before heading out.  As I drove down the lane – flanked by parking on both sides – some lady backed out and hit my shiny Volvo – smack in the middle of the front bumper.  I could not believe it.  I just could not believe it.  Out I climbed.  She said to me, “Where did you come from?”  Then she said, “I think this accident is 50/50.”  I said, “I don’t think so.”  We exchanged names, contact info and I noted her license plate number.  I am happy to say she did contact me and we are sorting through the repairs.

I got word from my marina that I could move Ta Daa home to Westbay on Feb 10.  That was good news for me and Winston.  I had to wait for a rising tide and was home by 1 PM.  It took some time to securely and properly tie up.  Next, Winston and I walked back to Victoria to get the Volvo.  On the way I started to feel unwell.  Hmmm this gurgling tummy is unusual but I was sure it was just a gas bubble working its way through.  I thought wrong.  I no sooner had returned to the boat and I was violently ill.  This went on far too long.  I could barely get out of bed the next day to walk my little fur baby.  Sunday was a bit better but I found it difficult to even drink water.  Thank goodness it passed and its wake left me with headaches for a couple of days.  

The Rest Of January...

Was uneventful, that is, until January 22.  I had gone up island on my flex Friday and chose to stay only one night.  Winston and I trundled home on Saturday, arriving about seven.   I warmed the boat, hunkered down with a nip of scotch and lavished in the thought that I could sleep in the next day.  It seemed like it would be the first sleep in for weeks.  I was due.  

As a live aboard, your hearing becomes more acute. Before the sun came up, I could hear the wind starting to blow.  Soon after I could hear and feel the effects.  The wind was out of the east.  That means for me the wind was blowing from the direction of the inner harbor and hitting me on the port beam.  I was being blown off the dock.  No before you jump to conclusions I was not being blown away but my lines were being stretched to the maximum.  I often checked the space between me and my closest neighbour.  We have no dock finger between us.  There was little room.  I put out fenders in the event we came close enough to touch.

I checked the wind speed at Ogden Point.  As boaters we learn to understand wind speed in knots.  A knot is about 1.8 km/hr.  Before coffee it was time to check what is going on outside.  At 8 AM  it was crazzzzzzy!  Waves were pounding my other neighbour’s boat into the dock with waves crashing over his deck.  As a result our dock finger was taking a beating.  I added extra lines to my boat.  I chatted to another neighbor for a bit then decided it was time to go inside.  Winston and I would not be going for the intended 6 km walk.  As I turned to head to my boat I realized that the line had pulled so tight it broke the 2X4 railing.  Then I noticed that the dock was breaking up from underneath.  The wind peaked at 56.8 knots!  One of my cleats that I was tied to was twisting sideways.  It was as if all HELL was breaking loose.  What could go wrong was going wrong!

This brought new and unfamiliar fears.  I was worried that the loose boards would find their way into the hull of my boat.   I was compelled to report the current happenings to the owner.  He came down for a first hand look.  With a little help from my friends, we did some fancy lashing to secure my dock finger to the main dock.  We also secured my boat to the main dock and to the piling.  The fear was that my boat finger would further break up in the storm.  I stayed aboard for the afternoon and early evening.  For safety reasons, Winston and I stayed overnight at our neighbour’s float home.  The next day it was decided that I would move Ta Daa to the inner harbor while my dock finger was rebuilt and reinforced with angle iron.  While it was a treat to be in the harbor, three weeks was a long time away from my home port.