I can't believe they have to tell you this...

The Tropical Tip of Texas... I sometimes call it "Mexico Lite."  It really feels different here, compared to most places in the US... and not just our sub-tropical climate.

The local news media feels it is necessary to put out this warning every New Years Eve: "Do not fire guns in the air to celebrate the New Year.  That is a dangerous practice.  People are injured every year due to this..."  Or, as I like to put it: shoot a bullet into the air, and it's gonna come down somewhere.  Fire it straight up and... well, you do the math.  Yes, it happens around here.  Really.


The culture is different here from most of the rest of the US.  People use fireworks here to celebrate special occasions: the 4th of July (obviously), birthdays, New Years, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Arbor Day, National Bring Your Cat To Work Day... really, any occasion will do.  I guess, if you aren't supposed to fire off a gun, fireworks are a close substitute.  Admit it: right now, you are thinking of the stereotypical bandito with bullet belts strapped on, firing into the air, while hollering, "Yi! Yi! Yi! Yi!" aren't you?)


South Padre Island has a big fireworks display tonight.  Usually billed as "the biggest fireworks display in Texas!"  Because that is important.  Texans like "big."  We have driven over to the island to watch... one way on, same way off.  The crowds are usually HUGE.  The traffic is just as bad as you're imagining.  Most of the time, when we are here, we anchor out on our boat; watch the fireworks, spend the night at anchor (not many other boats do this, so there is very little traffic on the water), then get to see the first sunrise of the New Year from the water.  It's supposed to be rainy tonight and tomorrow, so we're going to pass on that.


Some folks on our island set off fireworks, too.  Here's the problem with that...

While we were coming back in Wild Blue yesterday, we saw a family with a boat tied off to the shore on the other side of one of our canals... in what is generally called "the Nature Area."  Tonight, it will be known as "the fireworks area."  Less than a block from our house.  With lots of stuff "going up."  Southwest of us... with the wind coming out of the southwest.

Happy New Year!

Boat time...

We untied the dock lines and headed out for a "once around."  Turning west out of our canal, you are at the end of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway - it looks like someone did some modifications to the very last daymark...

I'm guessing that left a mark (no pun intended).

Looking ahead, we saw a familiar boat - Willie's Tug was heading our way.  I gave Herb a call on the VHF, suggesting starboard to starboard so we could visit.  Little Izzy looked out, but Jake wasn't onboard, Herb was running solo today...

We visited for a while, wished each other a "Happy New Year," then separated...

Good looking boat!

We had no agenda, I was just wanting to run at speed for a while to "clean up the bottom"... Wild Blue has been sitting since before the kids came.  I ran us up to high cruise speed, and we were out to the jetties in just a few minutes.  Then, we saw our first dolphin of the day...

Quite a few boats out there; everyone taking advantage of the nice day.  It was gray, but the temp was above 70º, light breeze, and not much wave action; a fine day to be out on the water.  Little Izzy climbed up on Joan's lap to take it all in...

More dolphins, but they were teasing us.  They'd come up on one side of the boat, then disappear.  Then jump out of the water on the other side of the boat!  Getting the camera out is generally a guarantee they'll do this.  Joan took the camera, just as one jumped completely out of the water... "There it is! Did you get that?"

Nothing but sky...

Yeah, that happens.  Coming back up the ship channel, we saw more dolphins and slowed down to take it in...

The sky looked worse than it was...

No, it wasn't raining, just some spray from running fast.  You can see that the water barely has ripples.

Back home in time to wash down the boat before dark.  Nice afternoon.

Fa la la la that's a wrap...

The Christmas decorations are coming down today.  Well, Joan already has the indoor ones ready to be put away... she's just waiting for me to get the outdoor ones down.

Steph and Dan are gone, so we're back into the 70s today.  Light breeze.  Mostly cloudy.  There is a boat out at the dock calling my name.  When the decorations are put away, it will be time to take Wild Blue out for a while.

Your credential has been issued...

Sounds pretty official, huh?  I got word from the National Maritime Center that my paperwork, medical, and sea time have all been reviewed and my Merchant Marine Document (Captain's License) has been renewed.

I started the process earlier this month.  While that may sound like a long time, it is actually faster than the process has gone in years past.  And something new this time around: at each step in the process, I got an e-mail informing me.  I was pretty impressed with that.  Instead of waiting and wondering how long it would be, they now keep you in the loop.

I even got an e-mail from them 3 months before my renewal date to let me know it was coming up.  An improvement in government efficiency - refreshing!

I was told when to expect the renewed license in the mail... I wonder if the USPS will be as efficient? ;-)

Miss December...

When we came back from the airport today, we had a pink slip... no, we didn't get fired from anything.  The pink slip is what the mail carrier leaves in our box as notice that we have something to pick up at the Post Office.  Joan said, "The only thing we are expecting is your C-Brats calendar."

Sure enough.  Sam did a fine job putting this together.  Oh, and Miss December?  That would be the lovely Wild Blue.

Here's the link...

http://www.lulu.com/shop/sam-landsman/2013-c-brat-calendar/calendar/product-20583505.html

And Wild Blue's image...

Bye-bye...

We took Steph and Dan to the airport this afternoon... this time passed SO fast!  Steph joked that Joan and I would be doing that same "jumping in the air" pose when they left.  ;-)  Nahhh, we all enjoy our time together.  No sad good-byes today, 'cause we'll be seeing them again in a month or so.

Mother Nature must have gotten the word that they were leaving - sunny and pleasant when we came back home.

Portrait Session...

We were on a bit of a deadline, coming back from Brownsville... I had promised Stephanie a portrait session of her and Dan.  They are flying out tomorrow, so it had to be today.  The light was nice at the end of the day, but soon to disappear; they were looking for something "not traditional"... yeah, I can still do that...

Fun subjects... I'm not looking forward to them leaving.

The day at the zoo...

The Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville is a nice facility, especially considering the size of the city.  Our daughter loves zoos and animals, so off we went...

A great day!  Followed up with a nice Italian meal, then back to the coast.

This place is a zoo...

Well, not really.  But, we're heading to the zoo... Steph's request while they're here: a trip to the Gladys Porter Zoo.  More on this as the situation unfolds.

Early shopping...

Joan and Steph felt the need to do Wal-Mart as soon as it opened this morning.  They each had an alarm set for 6:30... it was still dark when we left the boat to come into the house.  When I asked if I "had to go," I was told: "No.  Only if you want to go to breakfast with us at Manuel's afterwards."

Extortion.

I wasn't looking forward to the experience as we drove up to the store... until I saw that there were very few cars in the parking lot.  Even in the aisles of Christmas stuff, it wasn't crowded.  Steph and Dan stock up on stuff that they'll use next year for their Angel Tree kids, as well as "treasure chest" prizes (they let the kids pick a prize for good behavior and performance).  It was worth the early rising... especially for breakfast at Manuel's.

From there, we drove over to the island (South Padre Island), where Steph and Dan met.  They had never been in a Tuesday Morning... that killed another hour and a half.  So much for saving anything earlier. ;-)

The cold front came in during the night... we had to run heat on the boat.  We needed jackets and gloves on our early morning outing.  Temps in the 40s!  What a change in 24 hours.

Proof...

We have changed our Christmas gift-giving over the years, especially since Steph and Dan took on the Angel Tree adoptions in their school.  I am living proof, though, that you still get stuff even if you are on the naughty list. ;-)

Our house on the canal is small - it was designed to be a one bedroom vacation home.  We decided that Steph and Dan had spent enough Christmas Eves on the hide-a-bed couch... we gave them our bedroom and we spent the night on the boat.  Our first Christmas on the boat... I had to think about that... yep.

When Joan and I got up this morning, I stepped out into the cockpit and saw legs on the dock... well, pajamas on the dock... OK, legs in pajamas on the dock.  Steph and Dan were sitting on the dock, trying to figure out how to open the camperback to get on the boat and let us know that Santa had come during the night!

"You coulda just knocked," I told them.

We all went into the house... sure enough, there were presents under the tree.  We had fun opening, ooohhing and aaaahhing.  Joan made us a great breakfast, then on to the Christmas games!  We all get small prizes, then Joan and Steph work on numbering and directives... the directives determine the distribution of the prizes/gifts... "Merry Christmas!  Everyone pick another gift!"  or  "Sing the chorus of your favorite Christmas song or forfeit your gift."

Fun!

Oh, and were they excited when we picked them up at the airport?  You decide...

Yep, it's a very merry Christmas! :-)

Merry Christmas!

No other odd observations.  I wish you peace and joy.  If you can't be with those you love this season, hold them close in your heart.

Anticipation...

Joan and Steph have been talking on the phone a lot the past couple days... Steph and Dan are coming here for Christmas, and we are excited to have them!  A great deal of planning is necessary... I can only assume it is so they can surprise me with something special for Christmas.  Of course, just having the kids here with us for the holidays is gift enough.  Well, that and something special for me.  After all, it is better to give than receive, and I want to make it better for them.  I am very giving that way... when it comes to receiving.  'Tis the season!  ;-)

-------------------------------

We didn't go out on the boat, but I did get some "messing about in boats" in... the port side windshield wiper needed an adjustment.  December 23rd - beautiful sunshine, high in the mid-70s, and breezy.  We have been preparing for for our company tomorrow.

We were up early this morning... Joan wanted to do some grocery shopping at Wal-Mart.  Two days before Christmas, I expected the worst and suggested we go there early.  We stopped at Manuel's for breakfast (best breakfast tortillas ever!), then on to Wally World.  I expected the worst, since it was now 8:00... there were about a dozen cars in the lot.  No crowds.  Easy to get around the store.  No one in line for the cashier.  I expected the place to be a zoo... not even close.  I consider that an early "gift." ;-)

Yes, size does matter...

Joan did some sewing, while I accompanied her on the guitar.  We grilled some burgers and corn on the cobb.  The weather weasels had predicted a partly sunny day... they were wrong.  Nothing but gray.  The wind was blowing a bit more than predicted, as well.  The temps were in the low 70s... this is a good day to be out on a C-Dory.

Size: they were calling for waves of 4 to 6 feet in the Gulf, with a period of 8 seconds.  As we were heading that direction, we got a report from one of the off-shore fishing boats on his way back in: 8 to 12 feet, with a period of 3 to 4 seconds.  Or, as we in the business call it: ugly!  The ship channel was pretty pleasant, we could see ahead in the jetties - rollers coming in.

Up...

And down...

We could see pelicans diving like crazy ahead of us, and figured there'd be some dolphins in on that feeding.  Yep...

They were darting all over out there.  The ride was not particularly comfortable, so we didn't stay long.  Some people didn't have that option...

They were heading out as we were heading in.  There were quite a few excursion boats out there today...

But, none of them were packed with people.

I had to chuckle at one exchange I heard on the VHF:

"You got flippers there?"

"Yeah, off our bow."

"It's nasty out at the end."

"Yeah, I'm gonna take 'em out there for a quick look.  They'll be seasick in about a minute, then they'll all be ready to head in."

No doubt.

We were dry and comfortable in Wild Blue.  Coming back up the ship channel, we saw this...

A fuel barge, but not the typical ones we usually see - this one has the V in the back for the nose of the tug doing the pushing.  The barge had a New York home port on it.

Joan asked me to turn on the windshield wiper on her side... it made a couple passes, then stopped in mid-swing.  "Fuse," I said.  "Do you want to drive or replace it?"

"I'll get it," she said.  She knows right where to look on the back of the helm bulkhead.  A minute later, she had the blown fuse out and a new one in.  Handy to have a good first mate... or maybe good to have a handy first mate. ;-)

It took some extra hosing to get the salt spray off Wild Blue when we got home.  No sunshine, but still a nice day.

Oh, and those Mayans were wrong. ;-)

This is 40...

No, not our age - the movie.  Joan and I had a date night... well, a date afternoon.  "This is 40" just started at our local theater.  It's a comedy, about a couple, both just turning 40.  Nice thing about a matinee: the theater is rarely packed.  It was less packed than usual... a grand total of 4 people in the theater... two young girls who looked to be around 20, and Joan and me, who are that far on the other side of 40.

The movie was funny, occasionally crude.  The two girls in front of us laughed at the "old people" in the movie; Joan and I nodded our heads knowingly.  It was a fun date - the first time we've been to a movie in months.  And by months, I mean since before we left for the Pacific Northwest in the spring.

Our "winter event" is over; lasted two whole days.  It was still cool today (in the 60s), but plenty of sunshine and very little wind.  We drove by the beach on our way home after the movie - the water is still sloppy in the Gulf, but beautiful in the Laguna Madre.

We wrapped up our afternoon with some boat time.  Nice way to spend the day.  The "projects" are done for a while, the house is ready for our sweet little girl and son-in-law to visit for Christmas.

Happy Holidays!

The calendar...

What to do?  We ordered a calendar... not a Mayan calendar.  It's a C-Dory calendar, put together by our friend  Sam from the C-Brats... and Wild Blue is Miss December.  I'm going to be pissed if the world ends tomorrow.  I guess this makes me an optimist, huh?  Ordering a 2013 calendar when the world is supposed to end tomorrow.  Seriously, if the world ends, I'm not paying for that calendar.  ;-)

Oh, Happy Mayan New Year!  I'm gonna party like it's 2012!

C-Brat calendar...

http://www.lulu.com/shop/sam-landsman/2013-c-brat-calendar/calendar/product-20583505.html

Locked in! Or, out!

We were hanging out in the house, staying out of the unrelenting wind.  Compared to much of the country, we are getting off easy - this cold front dropped our daytime temps about 20º, but no rain, no storms, sunny skies, low humidity, and wind gusting above 40 mph.

Along about the crack of noon, I was feeling a bit of cabin fever.  We decided to go out for lunch.  Yep, that wind is still howling.  Long pants and a wind-breaker, but I didn't need socks.

As we were heading out the door, the handle on the storm door made a crunching noise... not a good crunch (like eating a candy cane), but a bad crunch (like, this is going to cost you time and money).  Sure enough, turning the handle wouldn't release the latch.  I wiggled it (my preferred method of repair), and it opened.  I told Joan I'd look at it after lunch.

So, lunch out and one of our 5 times a week jaunts through Wally World.  We came home... and couldn't get in the front door.  I was just a little bit concerned about that, and had left the back door unlocked.  We brought our groceries into the house, and as promised I looked at the door... apparently, just looking at it doesn't fix anything.  Going with the "if it's already broke, how much more can I do to it" theory, I started taking the latch apart.  With a handful of screws and a few other bits scattered about, I was able to determine the problem: it's broke.

This mechanism has two places where the door lever fits in, so it can be used as either a right hand or left hand door.  It was clear to see where the internal mechanism was busted, but I surmised that I could turn the whole mechanism upside down and get by with pulling the door handle up instead of down... it would get us by until we could get a new internal mechanism.  It wasn't until I put the last screw in that I realized that, while this certainly made the mechanism work, it no longer lined up with the striker plate.

I looked up the part on the internet and called Lowes (where we bought the door) to see if they had the repair part in stock.  After getting transferred around the store a bit, I finally got to Hilda, this particular store's Grande Dame of storm doors.  After discussing the situation with Hilda, and being absolutely certain that she didn't know what I needed, she said, "I will call Pella and order the part.  Then I will call you back with the price, and you can pay for it over the phone."  She reminded me three times, that "this is the holiday season - it normally takes 7 to 14 business days to get a shipment in, but it will take longer than that because this is the holiday season.  Pella will not sell to you, so I will order it... but, this is the holiday season - it normally takes 7 to 14 business days to get a shipment, but it will take longer because this is the holiday season."  Pretty sure Hilda used to work in the Department of Redundancy Department.

True to her word, Hilda called us back in a few minutes.  According to the price she quoted us, she seems to think the way to fix this is to build a new house around the door.  She then decided that maybe we should talk to Pella ourselves.  Good plan.  I wished her Happy Holidays, because this is the holiday season.

I spoke with a very nice lady at Pella, named Rachel.  Rachel even knew one of my friends from Brookings.  Small world.  I described the problem and asked if I could just buy the internal mechanism and if they would sell it to me... "Absolutely and absolutely."  She knew exactly what I needed.  The part was $18 including shipping.  She took my credit card number and was very efficient.  It will take a least a week to get the part... but, this is the holiday season.  ;-)  No, she didn't say that last part... apparently she gave me credit for knowing this is the holiday season.  I think I heard something about that holiday stuff on the news.

Rachel did say, "You can get by until the part comes in by turning the mechanism around, but you will have to pull up on the handle instead of pushing down."

"I tried that before I called you - the striker plate doesn't line up."

"Oh... I can see where that would be a problem.  You can always use the deadbolt to hold the door shut and just tape over the striker plate."  I was delighted she knew what I was talking about.  We wished each other happy holidays and hung up.

I was buttoning up the mechanism, when Joan said, "We should lube up the deadbolt."

"Good idea."  When I went to get the WD-40, I let go of the door.  The howling wind started to pull the door open.  I said to Joan, "Hold that door so it doesn't get ripped off!"

She reached out, grabbed the door, and pulled it shut.  Before I had the chance to tape off the striker plate.  It took us an hour to get the door open again.  In the end, a big screwdriver and some leverage makes the difference.  We taped over the striker plate.  The deadbolt will hold it closed.  We have never used the key for that storm door, since the main door has a more secure deadbolt.  It works.

So, in 7 to 14 days, we should have the repair part necessary to fix the door.  Santa will have to come in the other door, since we don't have a chimney.

Everyone knows it's...

WINDY!!

If you were "trippin' down the streets of the city"... it's likely you'd be trippin', 'cause the wind might be blowing your feet out from underneath you.  I don't mean this to be a daily weather report, but as winter moves in, it does become a hot topic.  Hot is the key word today, with the current temp (just after noon) of 82º and wind out of the southeast at 30, gusting into the 40s.  It's supposed to blow like that all day, all night, and clock around to the NNW by tomorrow, with lower temps and even higher gusts.

Not much in the way of precip predicted with this front.  The north side of this same front is going to cause blizzard conditions in the upper Midwest - we'll see daytime highs in the 60s.

I went out to check lines on Wild Blue... looks like she wants to go somewhere, 'cause she is pulling on her lines... or, it could be that wind.  ;-)

------------------------------------

What a winter evening looks like in the Tropical Tip...

Yeah, the trees are blowing.  You can see some Christmas lights on the houses.  Pretty sky.  I'm dreaming of a balmy Christmas... supposed to be 75º, breezy, and mostly sunny on Christmas Day.

A Chamber of Commerce Day...

Oh my goodness - what a perfect December day!  The high today was in the mid-70s, crisp bright blue sky, low humidity, light breeze.  A beautiful day!  It's been mostly gray the last few days, so this was a nice change.

The outing for today: no boat, no beach, no motorcycing - we drove into the city to finish up the Christmas shopping.  On the bright side, I was able to find exactly what I was looking for to make Joan's present: whoa, I almost said what it is, and there is always the chance that she might read this. ;-)

In the valley, the temp was in the mid-80s.  A cold front came through last night... you wouldn't know it from the temps, but the light wind changed to out of the northeast and the humidity dropped way down.  REALLY nice.  Tonight, with the low humidity, we are going to see a 20 to 25º change in temperature from the daytime high.  With the dew-point so low, it allows the heat to escape during the night.  Should be a good night for sleeping... without the air conditioning running.

I like December in the Tropical Tip.

Side note: Joan went to the grocery store this morning.  On her way back, driving across the swing bridge, she was treated to a dolphin show - right off the side of the bridge.  People were standing on the bridge, watching.  The bridge tender was outside watching.  When she got home, she said, "Wouldn't it be great if it was someone's first time here and they were treated to that as they drove onto the island?"  Pretty special, even for long-timers, too.  :-)

Does size matter?

No, this isn't that kind of blog.

It's been a while since we've been out on Wild Blue.  The last few days have been gray and windy... not cold; other projects keeping us from playing on the boat, though.

We bought an iPad Mini a couple weeks ago, and I wanted to give it a good try out on the boat.  Yes, we are able to find our way around our home waters, but I plan to order some mounts for the Mini and wanted to see where it would work best.

In years past, I have been using a small Garmin color chartplotter to the right of the main chartplotter.  Joan and I also have been swapping back and forth with the original iPad that we've been using in the boat since the iPad came out.  The Mini fits perfect where the small Garmin used to be...

From that perspective, the iPad Mini looks a lot smaller than the 8" Raymarine... the iPad is just leaning back there and is still further back than the main chartplotter.  Here's a view that puts them side-by-side...

Pretty close in size.  I have the Garmin Bluechart Marine Mobile app on the Mini - I am liking that app!  I think a Ram-mount on the front panel will put the Mini in just the right location.

It was a gusty day, with the wind coming from the southwest... an unusual direction here.  It made for 2' rollers in the ICW outside our canal.  Once in the ship channel, we were running with the wind and waves.  We saw some dolphins, but didn't stop to take in the show.  Joan had packed us a lunch, and we enjoyed that with the smooth ride.  Further down the ship channel, 5 shrimpboats were heading in - home for the holidays, I suppose...

We had headed out on a pretty low tide, and as we approached the jetties, the tide was coming in... putting the wind against the current.  Lumpy.  We didn't see another boat out there.  Back into the Laguna, we decided to have the wind on the beam for a short time instead of on the nose for a long time - made it an "around the island" outing.  Going north, we did see a parasail boat out, flying some tourists.  The discussion turned to captain jobs, and the fact that the people running those boats are often just building hours so they can get a better paying jobs.  Then, I said, "Or maybe it is young guys who are more interested in hauling girls in bikinis than they are making decent bucks?  Now me, I would rather haul girls in bikinis AND make decent bucks."  ;-)  Perspective.  Girls in bikinis don't have a place to $$ for a tip.

The parasail boat wasn't out there that long.  We did see two Coast Guard small boats doing an exercise...

Coming around our island, I planned to go through the swing bridge and avoid slogging into the chop.  Just as we got to the ICW, we saw "fins to the right."  This time, we stopped to watch the dolphins for a bit...

That one was close to the boat; swam up alongside, then under us.  We watch them play, but the chop was on the beam, making it a little difficult to drive the boat with one hand and handhold a little point & shoot with the other...

There are plenty more of those splash photos, showing where dolphins were just a second or two prior. ;-)

Temp was in the upper 70s to go along with the warm wind.  The C-Dory did a fine job of keeping us comfortable and dry.  We did see two small flat-bottom fishing boats the whole time we were out... dry wasn't on the menu for them.  I do like my cabin boat.  :-)

And the sign says...

Signs, signs, everywhere the signs.  We bought an address sign years ago for our lot here in the Tropical Tip.  Before we ever built a house on the lot.  The sign has been through a lot... survived Hurricane Dolly intact.  It is made out of concrete; weighs a ton.  It was white.

While we were gone, the cable company dug around in our yard.  I'm not saying they busted the sign, but someone did a number on it - busted it into pieces.  Liquid Nails put it back together, but the glue lines showed, and one of the numbers fell off.  Since this thing is almost an heirloom, I decided to spruce it up a bit... more Liquid Nails to do a "bondo" job on missing pieces, then a couple fresh coats of textured paint.  It looks pretty passable now...

I would consider this a "10 foot sign"... from about 10 feet away, it is still readable and looks pretty decent.  ;-)

Working with an old friend...

While doing some guitar cleaning, I had my ES-335 off the wall.  I have had this guitar for over 46 years.  Received it for my 13th birthday.  I was already making money playing in a band.  I had been saving, but didn't have enough for this beautiful instrument.  My sister, brother-in-law, and Mom all chipped in to make it happen.  You often hear about a gift changing someone's life... definitely the case with this Gibson.

Playing in different bands, this guitar traveled with me all over the US and Canada.  It may have been the catalyst that hooked me on a wandering lifestyle.  I had the guitar before I met Joan.  It has great sentimental value, but I don't play it much anymore.  My Taylor interests have getting all my attention this year; but today, the 335 got new strings and polished up. 

She has plenty of miles and scars on her, but she cleans up nicely.

No shower...

Nothing to do with cleaning up.  I went out several times last night to view the meteor shower... no joy, it was overcast.  Not from lack of trying.

Hope the viewing was better where you are.

Interesting statistics...

The software for Blogger allows me to look at numbers: number of views, where the viewer is from, and the operating system being used to view, among other things.  First time I've ever looked at the operating systems viewers are using: the largest (as expected) is some form of Windows.  What I didn't expect: the percentage of views from iPads is greater than that from MacOS.  May have something to do with the fact that I discuss iPad usage on here, especially regarding marine navigation.  There are still regular views on a post about using the iPad as a backup chartplotter that is over two years old.

Do a Google search on "iPad as chartplotter" and you'll see what I mean.  Oh, and the Navionics app was $20 back then.  ;-)

Rain-maker...

The newly installed hatch exhaust fan has had time for the adhesive/caulk to set up.  Mother Nature hasn't given us any rain for a few days, so I pelted the fan with water from the hose... then ran inside to check it out.  Dry, no leaks.  More pelting, still dry.  I opened the exhaust ring that allows a flow of air, and gave it more man-made rain.  Dry.  It's a good thing.

I was less than confident in the air exchange bowl on the housing - it looked like a "water trap."  I sealed that off with some RV adhesive caulk (used for roof and windows), then took the Dremmel to it to make weap paths for water to get out.  Looks like it works, after a thorough dousing.

Joan is testing out a dehumidifier... the goal: the driest boat in south Texas.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

We did some shopping today.  I have been wanting to get the house decorated, but the timing just hasn't worked.  When we got home today, it worked.  Joan put up some decorations inside while I worked on lights outside.  We had already decided we weren't going to go for the Clark Griswold Award this year, since we were getting such a late start.

The house is pretty compact, so when we are home for Christmas, we just put up the small fiber optic tree.  Yep, it's small and artificial... the ends of the needles light up... I like it!

Joan put a bunch of other Christmassy stuff up around the house.  I was particularly fond of this Friday Harbor tree ornament...

Santa on a seaplane - cute!  We have a few dolphin sculptures around the house - this one got a Santa hat...

While she was working on that, I sorted through lights, planning to keep it simple.  It took me a few minutes to put this star together...

It's more impressive with the lights on... well, if the lights worked.  This saw duty on top of the boat during last year's Lighted Boat Parade.  Apparently the salt spray got to it... about 10% of the lights worked.  Options: string new lights, go one-by-one through the lights to see which one (if it is only one, and it probably isn't) is non-functional, or chuck it and move on.  I picked option C (for chuck it).  Instead, I put a red lighted bow as the center, and blue and white icicle lights across the railing...

And, the results...

Certainly understated.  Looking down the canal, there aren't many places with lights; don't know if they aren't here, or if the Christmas spirit hasn't kicked in, yet.  I've always felt that Santa needs some lights to home in on. ;-)