Our first X-mas aboard

Call me a Grinch, but I've always hated christmas.  The season has always been full of stress and unrealistic expectations - I always let it get to me.  Knowing that our tiny living situation limits the amount of decorating and "festivities" we can participate in is a much needed relief.  I didn't want to do absolutely nothing, so we picked up this little tree

It's tiny, it's fake and it's perfect for our little boat.  The only regret I have is the lack of space to set out my collection of nut crackers.  Every year, for 18 years, I've gotten one for my birthday.  They're all very special to me and I've always enjoyed unwrapping them and setting them out.  This year, sigh, they'll stay wrapped up.

Marley made actual physical contact with a seal last night!  We let her off the leash to run back to the boat and then decided to go a bit further down the pier to look at a neighbors decorated boat.  It was dark and Marley saw the seal before we did.  She rushed up to it, bumped her chest against it's side and just stood there.  The seal must have been fast asleep because it gave a loud snort and jumped into the water.  I always assumed that they were very alert when they were on land and would run away from any perceived predator, not so with this seal.  Marley was shaking with excitement and we were shaking with fear - fear that she may have hurt a seal and fear that the seal might have grabbed a hold of her and pulled her into the briny deep!  We always tease her and tell her to not approach the seals 'cause they'll, "kick her ass".  Not so with this sleepy one.  Suffice to say, she won't be off leash again.  Later in the night we heard a seal snort and looked out the window to see a seal on one finger pier over.  We imagined it was glaring at Marley as she glared at it!  

We've gone through a very cold couple weeks here in Anacortes.  The temperature has gotten down into the low 20's and posed a problem with our heating arrangement.  The boat has a very intense heater - the original heater for the boat - in the salon.  It warms the salon very quickly but is forced air, you can practically hear the electrical meter spinning when it's on.  To solve this problem, we bought two oil filled radiators.  They take awhile to warm up, but are working really well.  Figuring this out has been a major hurdle for being a live aboard.  We were told by a friend that many of the liveaboards in this marina rent an apartment during this time of year, we didn't want to do that, but didn't want to freeze or pay a huge electric bill either.  

In this pic, you can see a thin coat of ice on the surface of the water

Part of being a liveaboard is managing "stuff".  There's a necessity built into this lifestyle that demands the assessment of what goes aboard and what stays off.  I find myself wanting less and less - experiences, not stuff!  Mikey understands this need so for my 50th birthday this month, he bought me concert tickets to see Pearl Jam!  The concert was epic and it was the perfect gift!  No wrapping paper, nothing to store, just wonderful memories!