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Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about posting a photo(s) without any words. But, I'm a rule breaker, so here are a few words: 1 - I have an imaginary cat named Simon. Some people think he's real because I write about him here on the blog from time to time. 2 - So if my cat is imaginary, why am I shopping for cat food? 3 - If I was a cat, I think I'd prefer crunchy nuggets over soft food. The soft food stinks. Although maybe if I was a cat, I would think it smells divine. What words does this picture(s) bring to your mind when you look at it? For more Wordless Wednesday fun, click here .  Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - pop by and say hi! Murder at the Marina - a lighthearted & humorous cozy sailing mystery - available in ebook and paperback format at: Amazon (US) | Amazon (CA) | Amazon (UK) | Amazon (AU) | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Apple iBooks | Google Play | Book Depository | Books-A...

You know what's great about Facebook? It's chock full of distractions! Wait a minute. . .maybe that's not such a great thing. I should be focused on boat projects and writing projects. Instead I find myself discovering new sites and rabbit holes to waste time on. Like MapLoco's cool site where you can make maps of all the places you've visited. You can fill them out for US states, Canadian provinces, European countries, or worldwide. I couldn't remember what states I've been to, so I filled out the worldwide map instead. In my defense, I only spent about ten minutes doing it, so it wasn't too much of a distraction. But then I ended up daydreaming about places I want to visit for a good three hours, so that was pretty distracting. I'm thinking we need to set our sights on filling in the blank parts of the map. There's a lot of countries left to visit. Do you like to travel? What's the most interesting place you've visited? Where do you wa...

Flashback Friday takes place on the last Friday of the month. The idea is to give a little more love to a blog post you've published before that maybe didn't get enough attention, or is something you think is still relevant or even a something that you really love and want to share again. Many thanks to Michael d’Agostino for starting Flashback Friday and inspiring me to go back and revisit some of our earlier blog posts. * * * This is a flashback to our time camping across the States while in search of our next sailboat, which ended up being a Moody 346, Tickety Boo , which we found in Florida. It's been ages since we've gone camping and I've enjoyed looking back at some of the pictures from our travels on land, as well as reading my strange observations on life - in this case, about being cold blooded and possible UFO sightings. This post was originally published in February 2015. You can find the original post here . * * * Not too long ago, I was complaining...

  Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about posting a photo(s) without any words. But, I'm a rule breaker, so here are a few words: 1 - I was recently tagged for a Facebook challenge where you post the covers of some of your favorite books for seven days. These are some of the ones I chose. 2 - I wonder how people come up with Facebook challenge ideas. Some of them are very creative. I might have to come up with one of my own, like post a picture every day for a week of the things your cat knocks off the table. 3 - They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but I do. The cover plays a big part in whether I'll read something or not. What words does this picture(s) bring to your mind when you look at it? For more Wordless Wednesday fun, click here .  Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - pop by and say hi! Murder at the Marina - a lighthearted & humorous cozy sailing mystery - available in ebook and ...

We've been working on our >>Boat Project To Do List<< lately. Not actually working on any of the tasks on the list, mind you. More trying to figure out what we need to do vs. what we'd like to do and how much time, money, and aggravation each thing is going to involve. I've toyed around with various ways of categorizing our To Do Lists in the past. Some of you may be familiar with the following system: Very Boring Extremely Boring Need to Win the Lottery First Avoid at All Costs You'll notice there aren't any categories for "fun and exciting tasks" or "easy to do tasks" or "costs nothing tasks." That's because this is a boat we're talking about. This year, I've decided to try a new system out: Keep the Boat Afloat Essential Bodily Needs Stuff that Makes the Boat Go Making Life More Pleasant In Your Dreams Not To Do The first category is pretty self-explanatory. Ideally, you want your boat to stay on top of the w...

In addition to the usual blog posts on Mondays and Wednesdays (and the occasional Friday) about life on a sailboat and other oddities, I also occasionally post on Saturdays, focusing on things related to writing such as cover reveals, book launches, reviews, interviews with authors etc. So if you're a bit of a book nerd like I am, check in on Saturdays - you never know what might pop up. * * * Today, I'm featuring Deb Akey's wonderful book, >>The Essence: Short Vignettes on Moments that Define my Life with the Sea<< . I found The Essence to be a really unique book full of beautiful photographs accompanied by short vignettes about the author's reflections of her life living on a boat and her relationship with the sea. Deb has a lovely way with words - her honesty, sense of adventure, and wonder and curiosity about the world shine through. Deb dreamed of escaping a life of unsatisfying work by selling everything and sailing off into the sunset. It'...

Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about posting a photo(s) without any words. But, I'm a rule breaker, so here are a few words: 1 - I love getting packages in the mail, especially when they're a complete surprise. Like the one I received last week from a friend with a book on UFOs inside. 2 - Notice how there are two exclamation points after our boat name on the envelope? Punctuation can be fun. 3 - UFOs come in all shapes and sizes, just like people. I imagine aliens come in all shapes and sizes too. I wonder if UFOs have really cramped seats like we have on our planes. Do all of the aliens jostle each other trying to be the first to board so there's still room left in the overhead bins for their carry-on luggage? What words does this picture(s) bring to your mind when you look at it? For more Wordless Wednesday fun, click here .  Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - pop by and say hi! Murder at the Marina...

Paul at Lat43 does these hysterical Morning Tea blog posts which are a brain dump of whatever pops into his head while he's writing them. I decided to steal his idea. Except, I'm drinking coffee while I write this and he drinks tea, so it isn't really stealing, is it? So, here we go - all of the random nonsense floating through my head while I sip on my morning coffee. I'm drinking iced coffee this morning while running my air conditioning full-blast. Yes, it's still hot in southern Florida even though it's mid-October. Looks like we're in for another real feel temp of over 100 today.  When you start dripping sweat the minute you go outside, it's hard to get into the fall spirit. All everyone seems to be talking about on Facebook these days is pumpkin spice this and that while wrapped up in adorable sweaters and scarves. I don't really like pumpkin spice flavored things. I wonder if there's a support group for people like me? Everything seem...

Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about posting a photo(s) without any words. But, I'm a rule breaker, so here are a few words: 1 - It's always a celebration at the marina when someone splashes their boat after working on it for ages in the boatyard. It's even more of a celebration when she floats. 2 - This adorable tugboat is our new neighbor. I love the little round window on the door. 3 - Her owner calls her Big Tow and his dinghy is fittingly named Little Tow. What words does this picture(s) bring to your mind when you look at it? For more Wordless Wednesday fun, click here .  Thanks for stopping by our blog - we love it when people come visit! We're also on Facebook - pop by and say hi! Murder at the Marina - a lighthearted & humorous cozy sailing mystery - available in ebook and paperback format at: Amazon (US) | Amazon (CA) | Amazon (UK) | Amazon (AU) | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Apple iBooks | Google Play | Book Depository | Books-A-Million ...

I'm a sucker for coupons. The irrational part of my brain screams, "It's a bargain! Get it! Use the coupon!" This is the same part of my brain that convinces me that having cookies for breakfast is a smart dietary choice. The more sensible part of my brain has been beaten into submission over the years and doesn't even bother to put up a fight anymore. So when I got a coupon for a Hello Fresh meal kit, of course I ordered one, even though I knew it was probably a bit foolish. But, in my defense, I was curious what all the fuss is about. I also did a quick calculation and figured out that the cost of the meals (with the coupon, not at full price) was about what I'd spend on groceries, so it wasn't going to break the bank. I picked three meals (two servings each) - Korean-style chicken thighs, chicken over tabbouleh, and chicken cheddar fajitas. Because I don't have an oven, I was limited to meals that could be cooked on the stove-top. A few days later, ...

Here's an important question for you all - would you want a hairless cat? Personally, I think cats need fur, otherwise, what's the point? Have a look at the Spynx kittens in this video and let me know what you think. And now for a slightly harder question - are we living in a simulation? My mom sent me this article which posits that we're part of a simulation (think The Matrix ). I've heard about this theory before and read a few sci-fi short stories based on this. Frankly, it's all a bit depressing, so I distract myself from such scary thoughts by playing The Sims . I wonder if they know they're not real?   Some of you may have seen Crystal Collier's post yesterday announcing that she's stepping away from her blog. While I'm sad to see her go, it's totally understandable that she needs to channel her energy toward her family at this point in her life.  It reminded me that I should probably tell you about the change to my blogging schedule. I...

The Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) is a place to share and encourage, where writers can express their doubts and concerns without appearing foolish or weak. It's a great place to mingle with like minded people each month during IWSG day. Every month there ' s an optional question which may prompt folks to share advice, insights, a personal experience or story. Some folks answer the question in their IWSG blog post or let it inspire them if they're struggling with what to say. This month's question is: "How do major life changes affect your writing? Has writing ever helped you through something?" Check out how people have answered this month's question, as well as the other insecurities and writing topics they may have shared by visiting the IWSG sign-up list here . If you want to see how I answered the question, have a look below.  * * * Image via The Graphics Fairy "Here, kitty, kitty," I called out. I opened a can of cat f...

Clockwise from upper left: (1) Insect repellent - the essential centerpiece at any outdoor event in Florida; (2) Alex, one of the cool guys who works at the marina, sporting some patriotic shorts; (3) Visions of having three books in my cozy mystery series published; (4) Kudos to folks who brave the heat to clean their boats off - feel free to stop by and take care of mine; (5) I love that someone is driving a former police cruiser - very cool!; and (6) Our friend, Ted, doing his best imitation of a peacock at the local Guatemalan-Mexican restaurant. September was hot, hot, hot. That's about all I remember from the past month - the heat. Everyone in northern climates is posting lovely autumnal pictures on Facebook. Cool, crisp air. Needing a sweater at night. Sipping on hot chocolate without breaking into a sweat. It all sounds so lovely. Instead, I spent pretty much the entire month inside my boat with the air conditioning running full blast. On the bright side, at least the great...