2023 Life Logs, Day 126: Boat, Soccer, and a Coronation
Date: Saturday, May 6, 2023
Weather: Sunny and Warm; High 69, Low 50 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today I went from boat work to a soccer game to watching the coronation of a King. Quite an interesting array of activities. My boat work today was mostly assisting. I reviewed with Ollie how to use the electric sander to sand the inside and top of the toe rail and then set him loose to do that. I forgot to tell him to make sure there was masking tape applied to the deck next to the toe rail to protect the fiberglass deck from any sanding mishaps. But he remembered and applied the tape on his own. Ollie is only eleven, but he is every bit as good and reliable as many adults. About the time I finished giving Ollie directions, Heather asked me come down from the boat and consult with her and with Jed about how to proceed with the stripping of old bottom paint near the waterline that was not removed by the soda blasting process. We came up with a plan that required Jed to go home to get some things we needed. While he was gone, Heather and Sam applied masking tape just above the waterline to protect the fiberglass hull once Jed returned and started sanding.
We abandoned the idea of using stripper. It take too long and the sanding worked just fine. As in all jobs, the prep often takes longer than the actual work. Taping is tedious and required moving two ladders, one for the taper (Heather) and one for the person holding the tape (Sam). I was the overseer to make sure it was done right.
We were still finishing up the taping job when Jed returned. And it was time for me to take Ollie home to get dressed for an afternoon soccer game and to get him some lunch. Jonah was expected home soon as he had been in an off-Cape soccer game all morning. Friends delivered him home and then he went with Ollie and I to Ollie’s soccer game.
We returned home after the soccer game, and I got my clothes out of the dryer. Somehow I was able to get a laundry done in between trips to and fro. Since there was an Open House at the cottage today, I had Shadow with me. He went to the boat with me, but I left him in the upstairs ‘red’ room during Ollie’s soccer game. Unfortunately, when he was a puppy, the boys and I taught him to run after soccer balls. Now, every time he sees a soccer ball, he goes after it. That makes taking him to a soccer game an impossibility. I planned to return to the boat, but it was almost 5 pm and Heather, Jed, and Sam were headed home.
Tomorrow morning, Shadow and I will return to the boat for a couple of hours. Then I take off with Sam and his friend Sebi to a soccer game north of Providence, RI. It is an hour and a half drive, so we have to leave by 11:30 and won’t get back until almost 5 pm. We’ll stop by the boat on the way home to check progress.
Now for the coronation of a King. My daughter-in-law Jo is from England and I saw her Facebook post where she was very vividly explaining why she would not be watching the coronation of King Charles. I fully understand her feelings, but I am just too much of history buff to totally ignore this historic event that took place this morning between 5 and 10 am EST. I taped the event and started watching it tonight. Using fast forward, I watched the first three hours in two hours, and I ended up agreeing with Jo. My main take away is that the British monarchy has way too many jewels, and they need to separate church from state. Watching the very religious ceremony made me even more appreciative of our forefathers in this country who made it clear that church and state should be separated. In the United States, we are currently going through a challenging period where there is a loud contingency pushing to get religion back into the mix, but we must stand firm.
