A HAPPY SAILOR

Some of you Gentle Readers may remember my post (link here) about Webb Chiles, a 75 year old man in the midst of his 6th circumnavigation of the globe in a small (24 foot) sailboat.

Well I am pleased to relay that he has successfully sailed from Durban, South Africa (having started off from New Zealand a year ago) to Saint Helena island in the mid-Atlantic; thence on to St. Lucia island in the Eastern Caribbean for a week's respite.

And around two weeks ago he set off again and has made port in Marathon, Florida.

The last leg of his journey included many days of happy sailing and the tough old buzzard posted this photo of himself enjoying one of those days.

(Apologies, Webb.  I lightened the picture somewhat to better show off your glowing grin!)

As I have said before you can read his own account of his adventures, misadventures and plans for the future here (Webb Chiles log).

As he takes a break from his journey all I can say, once again, is "Well done, sailor!"

FRIDAY FUNNIES

Yeah, I know, you're all saying, "Where is he?  Where are our Friday Funnies?  I know he's old but do you suppose he died?"

So I answer, "I'm here.  They're here.  No, I haven't.  Yet."

Even the great ones start slowly some days.

As for those "old" comments, I can do those myself.

So let me just get some breakfast here.

All right, are you happy now?

Are you smilin'?

That's the right spirit.

Now just maintain that special elan (you can Google that) and have yourselves a splendiferous (or that) weekend.

Oh, and always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(Uh-oh, he's been up to something again.)

BLUE WATER

I have chosen today to give all of you (and us) a break from my stories of moving and show you a little of Arizona's beauty.

This is Watson Lake, which sits between Prescott and Prescott Valley.

It is actually a reservoir, as I'm sure the Arizona writer Katie Lee would call it.

That is how she twits the lovers of Lake Powell, near the border with Utah.

But reservoir or not it doesn't detract from the natural beauty of that blue, blue water on a sunny day.

Just a few feet away and looking a different direction one can understand why this area is called the Granite Dells.

The granite outcroppings are perfect for scaling either by amateurs or paramedics practicing their skills.

If you are of a certain age it is easy to remember the cowboy actor Tom Mix and his horse Tony galloping around this area.

Long, long ago.

It's a great place for boating or birding or a picnic or for hiking the four mile trail around the lake, though this old man has never tried the circumnavigation.

And the Peavine Trail even links all the way to Prescott Valley.

(Watch for rattlesnakes!)

Now, with apologies to Marlin Perkins, so ends this edition of Wild Kingdom.

LEASE SIGNING

We signed a lease for the "next" home today and learned to our great surprise that the rent is $50 less than we had previously thought!

😁   😁

Does that look like a couple of happy campers?

Every fifty bucks helps these days.

Moving day is set for June 1st but it looks like we'll gain access to the duplex a few days before that so we can begin taking small things over and storing them prior to moving day.

Tonight, acting on a suggestion from SWMBO that I had already been thinking about, I moved my printer from a stand on the left side of my desk over to the right side of my desk top. 

That frees up some more space and it's actually going to be handier than it has been.

(I am, after all, right-handed.)

((The teensy-tiny bit of dust on the top of the stand in the first picture is entirely of my doing, having absolutely nothing to do with SWMBO or her house-cleaning abilities.  Don't judge.))

I am getting more and more enthused about down-sizing.

As my friend Scott, aka "Low and Slow" from the Flight Plan blog, told me "It's a pleasant, stress-free way to live."

And when you're a couple in your late 70's/early 80's, it is definitely time to down-size.

And so . . . the beat goes on.

(Remember these two youngsters?)

NEW HOME

We finally got a walk-through of the home we'll be moving to at the end of this month.

It's a small duplex.

We'll be in the one on the left.

The two-car garage will be a godsend for storing boxes and furniture until we can decide what goes in and what does not.

As I said this is a smaller duplex than the one we lived in for a number of years up until 2013.

All along we've said we're downsizing and we will be forced to somewhat, though most of what we've become comfortable with will fit.

The present tenant showed us through the place yesterday.

He's nearly all moved out so Judy got a chance to take a good look and see where our "stuff" will go.

Tomorrow we sign a contract, presumably for a year's rent, and soon (we hope) we'll be able to begin moving some of our stuff over there.

In just over two weeks a moving crew will come and move us entirely over.

We feel somewhat relieved, somewhat anxious, but some of the pluses are a gas fireplace in the living room, ceiling fans in each of the rooms and a larger patio than we had anticipated.

As I said repeatedly to Judy last evening, "it will work out."

TGIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Thank Gawd It's Saturday)

FRIDAY FUNNIES

On this not-so-happy Friday there is a garage sale going on at the rear of my house, Judy and I are looking forward to a quiet but feastive (yes, I did spell that the way I meant to) evening to celebrate her birthday and people are asking "why aren't we rioting in the streets?"

In relation to what's been going on in Washington this week I can only thank a Roman dramatist named Plautus, who in the second century BC must have been looking far into the future.

He coined the term "tragicomedy".

Be that as it may, today is Friday and it is my job to try to lighten the mood so let me begin.

I hope you feel a tad better now and that you'll always remember to keep right on laughing.

It doesn't matter if people stare at you.

Now I hereby decree that you all get out there and have a wonderful weekend.

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

(Huh?)