Brrrr

Brr
Originally uploaded by ellenjohnrubicon.

This weekend was COLD. Single digit cold. On these nights the inner basin of the marina will freeze over with skim ice, which then creaks along the side of the hull as the boat moves. Rosy loves nothing more than plunging sticks into the ice "to help our boat." We remind her that our steel beast could break all the ice in the marina, unscathed. Her best asset, though? Two inches of insulation between the overhead and the hull. On cold nights, even when we chose not to run the big diesel stove, she has been warm.

After so much outdoor goodness this summer, I was dreading the winter. Just having four bodies inside every day can be so hard in such a small space. Somehow it's been better than expected. School helps, immensely- having somewhere to be everyday, and having tired bodies returned to us instead of rambunctious beasts (most of the time). We have been swimming- they spend hours at a time playing in the pool. Part of it is arriving at a good stage developmentally, too. They can look at a book together, they both love to draw, paint, and make stuff with Legos and Playmobil. Rosy is heavy into dramatic play, which is exhausting but normal. Her cast of characters in heavy rotation: pony, Dumbo the baby elephant, a muffin (yep), alien, and a trapped baby kitty (yep, again). "Don't you want to hold this trapped baby kitty?"



Meanwhile, after nearly a decade of living aboard, we made some improvements to the galley. John built a lovely counter into the corner of the boat opposite the sink. It now houses a toaster and a microwave, both of which get daily use. Heating leftovers without starting the stove and dragging out a pot and a bowl, and then washing all of that stuff with freezing cold water? Truly the difference between living and camping.

Thank you, weather, for holding off long enough that the cold and inch or two of snow we got last night seem novel and fun.
Maybe we're adapting, maybe we're getting better at it, maybe it's just getting easier- whatever the difference is, I'll take it.