the reverse curve of time

~ From Julia ~

Woke early then fell back asleep. When I got up Oceanna was working on adding to the pot of soup. Coop was sailing Sweetpea and Nate went to catch up to him on the paddle board. I got dressed and came up to journal.

People were paddling and waving. I was hoping to catch up on previous days entries. Oceanna took time to meditate. Coop and Nate returned and Oceanna made grilled cheese sandwiches to go with the soup. Then Oceanna went off in Sweetpea, she a natural! Coop went along on the paddle board.

A couple came by, the man said ‘beautiful boat’ and the rest was a delightful conversation about boats, Crow and it’s creation in the Gorge. They were from Sydney. The man had been a boat builder. He’d built a 55 foot ketch, weighted 50 tons, named Strong Tides. He sold it 40 years ago. He is 81. They now have a small boat Griffyn. It is like the other 4 boats we’ve seen and we hear that only 17 were made. One was in Gorge Harbor 2 days ago.

Next a man, Steve, and a friend Phil came by in a SeaRay 175. Very friendly. They had come by when we first were settling in yesterday with a big group of friends and 2 kids. Today Steve was bringing by a generous piece of salmon. We were trying to not drool. It was just caught yesterday and was all vacuum packed. They continued on to deliver salmon to the boat next to us. Very sweet.

Time for washing dishes. Nate was getting ready to put a coat of epoxy on the boo boos on the side of Crow where it had gotten bumped a few times. He’d already sanded them down to start the process. He sliced his finger almost the same exact place I had a couple days ago on the safety lines.

We haven’t had consistent cell service which is great. But today a message came through from friends Wendy and Whitney. They wanted me to know that their mom, my friend, Jan had passed away on Sunday. Being in Grace Harbor was a good place to be to let my thoughts be with them.

It was a breezy afternoon. Lovely temperature. I had my second sailing lesson in Sweetpea with Coop. The wind was kind of inconsistent and Coop had been on the water a lot for the day so we didn’t stay out that long. It was hard for me to focus anyway because my thoughts were with Jan and her daughters, Whitney and Wendy, who have become dear friends to me.

Shortly after Coop and I got back to the Crow, a couple Bill and Sue who are on a sailboat named ‘Why Knot?” Came by in their inflatable. They were gifting us prawns! We couldn’t believe it. Just because! Such sweetness. Sue was a burn unit nurse before retiring a year ago. Her demeanor was truly suited as a person who could treat her patients with kindness and empathy. Bill and Sue were kind and respectful to each other and truly loved being together. Each response they had to each other was kind and friendly. I look forward to seeing them again sometime.

Dinner was so delicious. Oceanna used 2 pans and made a pasta meal with prawns and garlic cream sauce with salmon on top. We did the prep together and had fun listening to music and chopping.

Great evening and good sleep. Brian our friend from Comox is coming to see us tomorrow. He got a call from a friend who needs help getting out to his father’s boat because he father is having serious health problems and his wife cannot manage the boat. Brian is a generous person who if he can help he will. Fortunately for us he has time to come to Grace Harbor and spend the day and night with us.