Day 201, Year 11: Wonderful, Wonderful
Date: Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Weather: Sunny and Warm!!!!
Location: At Home in Evergreen Preserve, Lowell, MA
Tonight we had a wonderful dinner with wonderful friends, and Mark made it through the evening just fine. He did not have a good day today due to persistent nausea, but somehow he rallied for the evening. But then evenings are always his best time. And he so desperately wanted to go out to dinner, so I think he willed it so. On a convoluted road home for the night, good friends Tom and Detta Porat came here after their work day. They live near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on the coast and drive inland to central New Hampshire each day for work. So this evening they drove south to visit with us before heading east to home. Despite our efforts to encourage getting take-out for dinner, Mark insisted that we go out to Blue Taleh in the UMass Lowell area for dinner. Blue Taleh is a restaurant specializing in Japanese and Thai cuisine. We ordered sushi take-out from there when our whole family was together the end of March and we were very impressed with their sushi. Mark loves sushi, so this gave him the incentive to make it through the evening. Mark and I enjoyed sushi and Detta and Tom enjoyed Thai. But more important than the good food was the good company. We love spending time with Tom and Detta, so this was a very special evening.
The saga of the packing up of Windbird continued today. Lee and Lynda returned to the boat and called us to do a storage area by storage area final check. Even with all of the boxes and boxes of things that have been taken off the boat, we have left loads behind for a prospective new owner. All of our books are still onboard as well. Some could be given away, but we have a number of books that I just would not want to part with. So we are going to have to plan another ‘assault’ to get books from Windbird and the remainder of the things that can’t be brought in this trip. The job is not completely done, but it is certainly miles and miles ahead of where it was a week ago. Lee and Lynda have done a herculean job of getting our things packed and ready to be transported north. Tomorrow my nephew Tommy’s son Ryan will work with them to pack up the trailer. It truly warms my heart and gives me renewed hope for humanity to see what people are willing to do for friends. Lynda and Lee leave next week for a 50th anniversary trip to Hawaii and then on to Portland to greet their first grandchild that is due the middle of June. They have spent way too many of their days packing up Windbird, but once that trailer is packed tomorrow, they can finally relax and focus on their upcoming trip. Thank you, Lynda and Lee. We have no idea what we would have done without your very generous offer to pack up the boat. I know you had no idea how much stuff a boat like Windbird could hold, but you have found her innermost hiding places and boxed up all those things. No easy feat. Thank you, thank you, from the bottom on our hearts.
