DISASSEMBLING

Just as everything begins to come together, I can begin to take things apart.

We signed the backup offer on the house this morning. So now, the contingent buyer has to either remove the contingency or nullify the contract. What's this mean for us? The house is a done deal (mostly)! So, after nine months, no more staging. No more showings. No more making the bed. No more boiling spices to make the house smell, um, spicy.

Our current closing date is July 28th, three weeks from today, so I've started disassembling the place, preparing to move. As I survey what's left, I find we have almost nothing. YAY. The store room downstairs might be the hardest part, but we're going to store the tools in one of our cars. I'm selectively giving away all my favorite belongings. It makes me so happy to pass them along to good homes.

The quest for a place to stay begins in earnest ..... On an odd note, other people seem more concerned about where we'll live than we do.

"Where will you live now?" they ask, slight panic in their voices. Maybe they're worried we'll be showing up on their doorstep three weeks from today. Be afraid.

UPDATE:
--Got another coat of 3-part varnish on the garage and drop boards.
--Cleaned out the interior of the boat.
--Finished the plugs on the teak screen.
--One of our biz prospects called to say they are proceeding with preparing an offer.
--Another biz prospect submitted their financial info.
--A broker in Oriental (NC) called to ask if we would like to list the boat. It wasn't one of those speculative calls. There had been a Downeast 32, just like Isabella, in their yard for work and so many people asked about it, he sought us out.
--Michael Jackson's funeral today. A sad life. A sad death.

ONE MORE DAY

We were prepared to sign the backup offer on the house when another realtor called to show it.

I had some friends over on the fourth to see the Colington boat parade, so the house was a bit messy. With a few hours' notice, I threw it back in order.

Turns out they weren't interested, so we'll be signing the backup offer soon.

Meanwhile, we have a new prospect for the biz ......

CLEARING THE DECKS

We were running around like Abbott and Costello this morning, trying to get the boat ready to be seen. Yes! Somebody's coming to see her this week.

We started with the trim on the teak-frame screens I made for the cabin, oh, about five years ago. I know, that completion thing. I actually tried several times to finish the trim, each time cutting the carefully prepared wood WRONG -- and short.

This morning's effort went only slightly better. Just before we made the first cut, I remembered how I went so far wrong last time and rescued us at the last second. We had only one extension cord, and needed two different drill bits, so there was a lot of shuffling, re-plugging and switching bits. On the last piece, I realized we didn't have enough wood. We pieced it -- badly. The jeeter meter was pinging, but we got it trimmed and I glued in the plugs. Just let it go. Let it go.

Then I turned my attention to the decks Chip saw in that photo yesterday. He was right. They looked awful, black in some spots, green in others. We clearly didn't have time to paint them before showing the boat, so I spent about 2 1/2 hours peeling off miles of blue tape and then scrubbing the decks with a combo of bleach, Wisk and TSP. Swab, swab, scrub, scrub, rinse, rinse. All in the rain.

At one point I came zooming from the side deck into the cockpit, stepped on the freshly fiberglassed spot and had a quick lesson in why "glass" is in the name. A total bust. Ouch.

However, the decks look marvelous.

Now, I have to finish the plugs, put a coat of varnish on the garage and drop boards. Chip will put the garage back on the boat, and we'll be ready for a showing.

UPDATE:
--We got to see my friend and former colleague Dan Froomkin tonight! We also met his awesome wife Paige and their absolutely adorable son, Max. Since I'm posting this retroactively, I won't be scooping anyone by saying congrats, Dan on the new gig at Huff Post!

THREE-PART HARMONY

You know that image where you see either an old woman or a young one? I'm sure it reveals something deep and meaningful about your inner whatever.

We had our version of this today while we were sitting on the boat. I took this photo:


All I could see were the gorgeous toe rails that I FINALLY got right with three-part varnish and a good brush this morning.

"Wow," I said, and showed the photo to Chip.

"Ugh," he said. All he could see was the dirty deck we're about to paint.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHIP!!!

For your birthday, I got you a backup offer on the house, and another business prospect -- and another person interested in the boat.

We joined our friends Jim and Dana on their boat over in Manteo harbor to discuss the house offer. Jim picked us up in the dinghy, Dana fixed awesome snacks and drinks. We toasted another offer on the house and Chip's birthday. It was perfect.

When we got home, I gave Chip his gift, that hand-cranked coffee grinder. Grinding on toward our goal.

The next one will be on the water .....

UPDATE:
--Got a new paintbrush. We'll prep and get a coat on tomorrow morning.

ANOTHER 3-PART DISASTER

I'm REALLY bad at cleaning brushes. About halfway through yesterday's coat of varnish, I started seeing little bumps catching in the wet varnish. UGH. It was old varnish in the brush starting to breakdown and flow with the fresh varnish. AAAAHHHHH.

Sanded out those. Then ...

I went to the hardware store to buy a new one and fell victim to marketing. Now, I've been varnishing long enough (forever?) to know it pays to get a nice brush. I always buy Wooster, but this time I noticed a Wooster series called "Yachtsman," like somehow wood on a boat needs some special brush. Yeah.

So with my first coat of 3-part, million dollar varnish, I started to understand why they call it "Yachtsman." From the beginning it started throwing up foam in its wake. As if that wasn't enough, it started spewing out bristles like so much jetsam.

Varnish, full of bubbles and bristles.

SIGH.

AND THEY'RE OFF!

These last nine months have felt much like the beginning of the roller coaster ride, you know, where you're chugging up an almost vertical incline at a glacial pace, chk chk chk. Your heart is pounding with anticipation, and yet, you just click, click, click along SO slowly.

Today, it seems we've (please, please) rounded the crest and are just about to be off.

Several more business prospects have emerged and are progressing toward making offers. I've received more inquiries about the boat in the last two days.

Remember how I was lolling in the disarray of the house yesterday? Today I got a call at 10:30 asking if the house could be shown at 2.

UPDATE:
--We went out bright and early for the photo shoot, only to find the sun at too harsh an angle. We'll try again another day.
--Wendy (Lily's mom) got the shingles today. Oy. I spent part of the day helping her get meds and taking care of Lily. On days like this, I'm glad we're here to help.