Waiting for Spring

I guess Juliet and I have been reminiscing about our old house quite a lot lately.  Jeffery pointed this out yesterday at breakfast. Maybe so, after all, it is that time of year where the Marina starts feeling claustrophobic and thoughts turn to outdoors.  And there was no better yard for springtime then our old place in Seattle.

I am finding that Sunday mornings in particular, I wax poetic about the old kitchen (Ha! I almost wrote "galley")!... Our routine consisted of coffee and Grateful dead, then breakfast in the sunny dining nook.  The dogs would lay around on the tile floor, (the radiant underfloor heat was their favorite thing).  The entire morning (and sometimes a good portion of the early afternoon), were spent in our bright, sun drenched kitchen.

Nowadays with most of the kids spread out across the Northwest, our Sunday mornings are less of a production. Juliet and Lucky Jack come up to the main salon and join Jeffery and me for our morning coffee. The Dead still make it on the ipod occasionally, but it isn't as much of a tradition.

This is what always happens at this time of year, I call it the "pre-spring-melancholy-blues".  What we need soon is some milder weather and sunnier skies. We need to fill all the fuel tanks and stock the cupboards, seat boxes and coolers, so that at a moment's notice we can cast off the dock lines and head out to who-knows-where.


Because, really...as much as I miss the old house and the memories that belong there, I can't wait to make up new traditions revolving around quiet harbors and  misty bays out in the islands.


Instead of coffee in the sun nook, it is coffee on the foredeck. Watching the seals and birds and other boats bobbing on their anchors, just like us. There may be no hot tub to lounge around in--and trust me, the frigid water of the Salish Sea is no substitute (no matter how inviting it looks)!... we have kayaks and tenders to paddle around and explore the inlets and rocky shores.

 I suppose, as long as it remains damp, grey and cold, I will keep reminiscing on my old Seattle house.  Secure in the knowledge that at some point, the clouds simply have to give way and allow the sun to return. That is when Kwaietek, Zodiac and Sugaree get to make up for it all.

So, here's to making some new traditions and fond memories that haven't even happened yet!