Happy Sunday!!
In case anyone has missed it, I haven’t been around much. There is a reason for my absence. I’ve been moving. As of last Saturday, we are now living on our 2005 Leopard 40 catamaran sailboat, Silver Penny!
The boat was in dry dock for over a week being repaired, but last Saturday we were finally able to move aboard. We’d unloaded the van the day before, so it was a mess as we decided where to put stuff.
Space everywhere is at a premium. Here is my refrigerator. The freezer is the same size.
Hubby’s 5 month old kitten, Maddie made herself at home right away. My cat, Raphaella, a 14 year old Chartreux, was not so sanguine. She stayed in her bag the whole day.
The first thing we had to do was go through the locks at Port Canaveral.
After that, we were in a canal on our way to the ICW and south to the marina we’ll be living in for a while.
Once we were in the ICW, friends joined us for little bit.
This is our first fixed bridge. It didn’t look like we’d fit, but we did.
Our arrival at the marina was interesting. One must remember that some days you enjoy the show and some days you are the show. Here is our resident pirate who has seen better days. He guards the foot of our dock.
It took repeating the de-naming and renaming ceremonies, but we finally got the new name on the boat.
This was my view our first morning in the marina.
We’re at the boat show now acquiring necessary items for the boat, such as a new anchor, safety gear, stove, and other things, but I’ll be back to author stuff in a couple of days.
Have you ever moved? How long did it take you to get your new home settled?
Have a great week.
Ella
ellaquinnauthor
Ella Quinn ~ Author 
When you in college and all belongings fit in your small car, moving is no big deal, but once I got a job and began acquiring things, moving became harder and harder. When I moved in my current house, and bought mostly new furniture I declared no more moving. I plan to die here…or while hiking.
LOL, Liza! I hope to have this boat for a very long time! Now I can just move my home without moving my things.
Wow, you have been very busy! Regarding moving…in our 32 years of marriage we have moved 13 times, 7 of them interstate. Our most chaotic was from Washington state to Colorado- moving truck, mini van, 2 bunnies, a sedated 80 pound Rottweiler, three children and all before cell phones! Our experience in moving gives us a 4 day average of getting things settled. Good luck, have fun and ENJOY! 🙂
That must have been an interesting move, Lisa! I just want to get it all in order!
What a wonderful move for you! Enjoy your new home and the delightful times you’ll have cruising the tropical waters.
Thanks, Darlene. We’re really looking forward to it!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!! Good luck getting settled and I hope Raphaella gets comfortable soon. 🙂
The first time I remember moving I was 10 and we moved from California to Georgia. Movers took the big stuff, but my parents were stuck with: 3 kids 8-13 years old; 2 cats; 1 dog; and assorted odds and ends while driving a Chevy Impala towing a VW Bug.
I swear the last time I moved will be the last time. The kids were 3 & 5 and we only moved about 10 miles, but I do not want to do it again. It seems like it took months before we were settled. 🙂
Have Fun!
So funny, Glenda. A few days ago a friend asked me how many times I’d moved. I counted about 30 times. Now I can just move my house around.
Jealous! LOL! Congrats on your new digs.
You’ll have to come visit, Jen!
I am so excited for you, hubby and the kitties, Ella ! Getting moved in seems like a never-ending task, but I know once you get everything in its place you will thoroughly enjoy your new life! And you still have the house on the island for those occasions when you feel like putting yourselves into dry-dock. LOL
You know I’m an Air Force brat so I am quite used to moving. And living out of a suitcase and trunk while traveling with the opera company taught me to pack light.
How, however, with a house and land I own I am afraid I have become quite the collector! Especially when it comes to research books! I’ve packed most of my books up as I continue to work on converting the master bedroom into my writing studio. I halted all work on that project whilst I was writing my Christmas novella, but now i hope to get at least one day a week to work on my studio so I can get my books out of totes!
Smooth sailing, Ella !
What an adventure for you, Louisa!! Thank you for stopping by!
So exciting! The photos are wonderful. You’ll have to keep a diary so you can publish a memoir about living on the catamaran and writing Regencies. I’d read that in a second!
Personally, I love throwing things out, so I enjoy moving. Something about paring down one’s possessions to the minimum is strangely appealing. Good luck and please keep us updated–
Hi Julia, I don’t have a problem throwing stuff I don’t need out. This morning I unpacked at least 6 fleece jackets of Hubby’s and asked him if he really needed all of them.
The problem with moving is the stuff, but you’ve no choice but to let go and obviously you did that before you boarded. Hope you have all your books on Kindle and ipad. LOL. I’ve over 2,500 physical books and then around 3,500 digital.
Nope, I can’t move into the life-style you have chosen, but we expect to be moving again. We want more space and I’d like to get a baby grand before I get too old to truly enjoy the beauty and sound of it.
That morning view is gorgeous. My sister just moved to Sequim in Washington state and will be spending lots of time of their sail boat. The magic of water! I live next to a lake, and appreciate the thrill of a morning walk on its edges.
That’s what’s nice about keeping the house. I still have all my books. The ones I need for work are with me. Everything I wanted to take with me is on Kindle. I love the water. Good luck and congratulations to your sister!
Oh, how fun! Glad to see you have the galley fridge stocked with the good stuff. Bon voyage!
Thanks, Angelyn! This is very exciting.
Your boat is beautiful! Congratulations!
We moved to Phoenix 5 years ago with our two little boys…six weeks old and 15 months old. Fortunately, it was a corporate move and we had movers, but the biggest mistake I made was requesting “unpacking.” They don’t actually put anything away, they just take it out of the box. So instead of having some nicely stacked (but unpacked) boxes, I had piles of junk EVERYWHERE, for a LONG time.
Hindsight is 20/20, eh?
Hi Justine! Thank you. We love it. Hm, I think the military movers are better. They had to put every thing where I told them to put it.
Your new boat looks great. Have a wonderful adventure! We are moving from the west coast of Canada to the Mediterranean coast of Spain in 2 weeks. So much to do!!
Congratulations, Darlene!! I’m so excited for you!! I love Spain!