The Boat

June 20th, 2019

Well on Monday I decided it was time to get the boat out, uncover it, clean it get it in the water so I could put it up for sale. A 24ft pontoon boat is way to much for me to handle and keep.
So I started with the tarp and usually I would untie all the ropes, put them together and store them but since I had decided to sell it, I took a knife to them and man it felt so good to do that, with each pull of the rope I felt release, see I never wanted a boat, but my ex did and he now lives in Australia so I was left with it in the separation.  It was now time to pull the tarp off, I started at the front and gave a big pull, its a big tarp so I had to keep walking backwards as I pulled, with a mighty woosh it was finally off. 
I climbed up on the trailer to step in and my heart sank, something had eaten the seats, console and anything they could get their little teeth and claws on. Oh my, for a moment I was over whelmed, then I climbed down got my phone, took some pictures, and emailed my insurance broker, asking her if it was possibly covered.
In the mean time I decided to take the wooden frame off it by myself, the person who was going to help me decided to ignore me, so it was just me, it took me a few hours to get it off, but in a way it felt so damn good to have done it with out a man. As I was finishing my elderly neighbor came by feeling bad he couldn't help me, I assured him it was fine, I had done it. I decided to check under one of the areas on the boat to see how much damage their was, and low and behold a raccoon was in their staring back at me. I ran like heck to the front of the boat saying its still in there. I jumped down and Harry took me to find a live trap so we could trap and release it, I set the trap in place and began banging on the back of the boat and guess what, Momma came out and so did her 5 babies. Oh my goodness, I caught 1 baby in the trap and that just made Momma mad, she did try to get the babies to follow her but no go, So I climbed up in and helped them to go in the right direction with a bit of force. 1 baby did try to get back in, but Momma came back after dark and took it away.
The good part about all this is that insurance did cover it and I got way more for it than I did in the divorce. So I'm feeling like I had a win this week and I'm very happy to put this behind me, with a big smile on my face. 

Planning

June 15, 2019

A few things have happened in the last couple of months. I finished my trip to Australia with a 1 week trip to the Solomon Islands where I relaxed and swam and ate wonderful food prepared by a dear friend, I met some wonderful people and made new life long friends. Lots of chats and wine consumed, a visit to a local school. I was saddened to see how poor the people are and the school was mediocre at best, holes in the walls, mold every where and very filthy. There are very few books for the children to use for reading and practicing their English. The ladies of the executives that work for SOL Tuna try to make a difference by volunteering a couple of afternoons a week. I bought each of the children in the English class a diary and pen to practice their writing of English. I left Noro feeling refreshed and ready to start planning my life.

The first thing I did when I got back was start the transfer of funds from my Australian bank so I could begin the process of investing the money and look for a place to buy in the fall.
I opened my summer trailer so I have a place to live for the next few months.

I no longer feel sad, I'm feeling optimistic that I can do this, I can push on and make a new life for myself. I have been picking up a few things that I will be needing in the event I get my place in the next few months. Starting from scratch means exactly that, I have nothing but my clothes and the will to make it on my own.

On June 3 I passed 11 years since I was diagnosed with Stage 3B Breast Cancer, I beat all odds, I had a 50/50 chance to survive and here I am, on July 25, 2019 it will be my 11 year cure date. I still can't thank my team enough for saving my life. I sometimes get sad when I hear of others who have not made it, I think why was I spared, then I remind myself that god has a reason for all of us, I believe mine is to do good for others and be kind, my granddaughter says I am the kindest person she knows, kindness is one thing that costs nothing and I do it regularly.