Balls! or All Balled Up.
12/22/2014
Two of my Dad's swear expressions were "Balls!" or the infamous "All balled up!". Of course, as a teenager of the 70's I thought I knew what he meant, but my eclectic education at UMO convinced me that I may have been wrong. According to "Maine Lingo" by John Gould, those two terms are credited to men who worked oxen and horse teams in Maine's winter woods, as my dad did. Both expressions refer to wet snow balling up the heavily laden sled, causing it to get "all balled up". When that happened, the appropriate curse was "Balls!" (In true Maine Lingo that would be expressed with a very hard "B" sound and nearly two syllables.)
Since this trip is "all balled up", I gave up and made sweets. Sometimes only chocolate will help. This morning I discovered Item Number 16 on the list of problems: the fridge system powered by the engine isn't working, either. When EW questioned my statement as he reclined in the off duty bunk, I easily proved my point by telling him the butter was melted. (Later in the morning we both remarked on my lack of rage at the discovery. In this case, he cold truthfully write in the log thusly: "0830. Bubs noted that the engine fridge unit isn't working, either."
Still, Balls!
We are sailing beautifully (though not as beautifully as "Nomad", the large private yacht that passed us this morning) and can fully expect to set the anchor on December 27th. We have plenty of canned food and won't starve, but things in the freezer are spoiling and things in the fridge will soon follow. It was time for sweets -- but I can't bake and do want to make sure the two and a half cans of camping butane last until we arrive. Hot tea is our only caffeine drink right now, it just takes too long to make coffee and the coffee pot doesn't sit well on the camping stove, making the process dangerous as well. So sweets. I needed sweets.
I melted a bit over a half of a small jar of Spanish peanut butter, added a good amount of honey, and mixed in 1 cup of raw oats, one cup of Spanish muesli, chopped walnuts, the last of the raisins, and about 3/4 cup of chocolate bits. I made balls, rolled them in sweetened coconut, and had a lovely sugar fix with my tea. Life is good at sea. Mostly. I do keep assuring EW that I don't hate this, but this trip is certainly not my favorite. Our "neighbors" for and aft of us (by hundreds or even a thousand miles) let me know that one boat has dealt with much worse weather than we, followed by having to repair a broken wind vane. The other boat has a persistent diesel leak and had to lower and mend a sail. This is the Atlantic Crossing Challenge. May every crew rise to the occasion, still like each other at the end, and sail again.
As of 12:36 UTC (shortly after noon) or 09:36 La Luna time, we were located at North 15 degrees 49.82 minutes and West 50 degrees 09.94 minutes. We are just 639 nautical miles from our goal (about the distance from Maine to Buffalo, but wetter), it's a warm sunny Caribbean day. (That's why the butter's melting.)
Merry Christmas to all! If you are traveling for the holidays, may your journey be safe and trouble free. If there are challenges - let loose with a hearty "Balls!" It's a clean cuss word. Really. The kids will love it. (I suggest a certain visiting aunt teach it to her darling curly-haired 2 year old niece. It'll be an "Auntie Mame" moment.)
Since this trip is "all balled up", I gave up and made sweets. Sometimes only chocolate will help. This morning I discovered Item Number 16 on the list of problems: the fridge system powered by the engine isn't working, either. When EW questioned my statement as he reclined in the off duty bunk, I easily proved my point by telling him the butter was melted. (Later in the morning we both remarked on my lack of rage at the discovery. In this case, he cold truthfully write in the log thusly: "0830. Bubs noted that the engine fridge unit isn't working, either."
Still, Balls!
We are sailing beautifully (though not as beautifully as "Nomad", the large private yacht that passed us this morning) and can fully expect to set the anchor on December 27th. We have plenty of canned food and won't starve, but things in the freezer are spoiling and things in the fridge will soon follow. It was time for sweets -- but I can't bake and do want to make sure the two and a half cans of camping butane last until we arrive. Hot tea is our only caffeine drink right now, it just takes too long to make coffee and the coffee pot doesn't sit well on the camping stove, making the process dangerous as well. So sweets. I needed sweets.
I melted a bit over a half of a small jar of Spanish peanut butter, added a good amount of honey, and mixed in 1 cup of raw oats, one cup of Spanish muesli, chopped walnuts, the last of the raisins, and about 3/4 cup of chocolate bits. I made balls, rolled them in sweetened coconut, and had a lovely sugar fix with my tea. Life is good at sea. Mostly. I do keep assuring EW that I don't hate this, but this trip is certainly not my favorite. Our "neighbors" for and aft of us (by hundreds or even a thousand miles) let me know that one boat has dealt with much worse weather than we, followed by having to repair a broken wind vane. The other boat has a persistent diesel leak and had to lower and mend a sail. This is the Atlantic Crossing Challenge. May every crew rise to the occasion, still like each other at the end, and sail again.
As of 12:36 UTC (shortly after noon) or 09:36 La Luna time, we were located at North 15 degrees 49.82 minutes and West 50 degrees 09.94 minutes. We are just 639 nautical miles from our goal (about the distance from Maine to Buffalo, but wetter), it's a warm sunny Caribbean day. (That's why the butter's melting.)
Merry Christmas to all! If you are traveling for the holidays, may your journey be safe and trouble free. If there are challenges - let loose with a hearty "Balls!" It's a clean cuss word. Really. The kids will love it. (I suggest a certain visiting aunt teach it to her darling curly-haired 2 year old niece. It'll be an "Auntie Mame" moment.)
Love your post! You are true adventures living life every day! Don't ever stop but maybe come visit your A dock past at Southport.
Posted by: Moby | 12/22/2014 at 10:19 PM
I'm on it! Balls! Hehe, oh I like this. :)
Posted by: Chrissy Malon | 12/24/2014 at 12:28 PM